By Bel Hernandez Castillo

Look around and you will see Latinas rising and driving the cultural conversation in the U.S. From JLO’s recent marriage to Ben Affleck to Actress Ana de Armas (No Time to Die, Knives Out) playing Marilyn Monroe, to Adhara Pérez the young Mexican niña who has an IQ higher than Einstein, and at 9 years of age, is pursuing two degrees at the University of Arizona. And what about the future you ask? The fact that actress Zoe Saldaña is the star of the five Avatar films that are set in the future, well you know Latinas will be kicking butt well beyond “a galaxy far far away” for eons. But just who are these outspoken U.S. Latinas who are seemingly unstoppable in their quest to make a difference? MSNBC’s special The Culture Is: Latina has captured the frank and insightful conversation led by actress Justina Machado (One Day at a Time, Jane The Virgin) with some of these Latinas.

The Culture Is series returns with the second installment of the series of four specials. The Culture Is: Latina one-hour special will premiere Sunday, August 7 at 10 p.m. ET and will feature an exclusive one-on-one interview with Machado and Oscar and Emmy-nominated actress and activist Rosie Perez who currently stars in HBO Max’s dark comedy The Flight Attendant. Perez’s first acting role in Hollywood was in director Spike Lee’s feature Do the Right Thing. It changed the course of her life and eventually lead to an Oscar nomination for her work in Fearless.

Additionally, there will be an open roundtable dialogue with eight other high-profile Latinas who during their conversation explore Latinas’ racial diversity, the power of images and how they shape the perception of what it is to be Latina, and their increasingly growing economic and voting power — all experiences that have shaped them personally and professionally.

Machado‘s smart and sassy role as Army veteran Penelope Alvarez on One Day at A Time garnered her the title of “The most dynamic actress on TV” by the magazine Harpers Baazar. Machado will soon be seen in the upcoming Amazon series The Horror of Dolores Roach which is executive produced by Showrunner Gloria Calderon Kellett, who is also part of The Culture is: Latina conversation. The other women include:

• Bricia Lopez, James Beard Award-Winning Restaurateur and Author
• Janel Martinez, Writer and Founder of Ain’t I Latina? 
• Gina Torres, Actress and Producer (9-1-1: Lone Star)
• Gloria Estefan, Grammy-Award Winning Singer, Actress and Philanthropist 
• Gloria Calderón Kellett, Executive Producer and Showrunner 
• Julissa Arce, Author of You Sound Like A White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation
• Maria Hinojosa,Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist and Anchor of Latino USA 
• Mónica Ramírez, Co-founder and President of The Latinx House

The Culture Is: Latina is the second of a four-part special series highlighting Black, Latina, Asian American Pacific Islander, and Indigenous women.

“The Culture Is amplifies our efforts to elevate diverse voices across MSNBC’s cable and streaming platforms,” said MSNBC president Rashida Jones when the series was first announced in May. “It puts women at the forefront to tell their own stories and share their experiences directly with audiences.”

To watch The Culture Is: Latina tune in Sunday, August 7 at 10 p.m. ET. For more on this follow @MSNBC, and @JustinaMachado  on Twitter. 

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