RA the Rugged Man is having a freestyle contest, and is upping the ante to all involved by posting this video of teenager A-F-R-O rapping off the cuff for the camera. Little is know about A-F-R-O (All Flows Reach Out) other than the following: he&#8217;s 17, from Bellflower, considers himself an old-school MC, and says…

17 Year Old Jamal “A-F-R-O” Gutierrez from Bellflower can Freestyle

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L.A. TACO STAFF

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The 24 Best Tamales In Los Angeles

<p>One of L.A. TACO&#8217;s co-founders, Hadley Tomicki is a writer and editor on food, travel, and culture whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, UrbanDaddy, High Times, and many other places.</p>


Hadley Tomicki

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Food

Support These Tacos, Burritos, And Tattoos That Give Back To Immigrants

<p><span class="OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none">Janette Villafana is an award-winning bilingual multimedia journalist. Her heart lies in community-based reporting, and her work is highly centered on showcasing and uplifting community voices, with a significant focus on the Latino community. She developed her beat at L.A. TACO, covering street vending communities in Los Angeles. Past work has been featured on NBC, LAist, Latino Rebels, and more. She is currently featured at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington in an exhibit titled “¡De última hora! Latinas Report Breaking News.”</span></p>


Janette Villafana

Vanessa Solis, the owner of Solis Coffee Co. and her siblings.

Boyle Heights

The Eight Best Latino-Owned Coffee Pop-Ups Serving Labubu, Gansito, and Duvalín Lattes From Their Front Yards

<p>Claudia Preza&#8217;s work has been featured in publications like Reader&#8217;s Digest and Budget Travel. Her writing centers around any and all of the layers of the Latinx experience and her love of travel.</p>


Claudia Preza

Chilaquiles divorciados at Cilantro Lime in DTLA.

The 20 Best Chilaquiles in Los Angeles

Tacos

The 18 Best Fish and Seafood Tacos In Los Angeles

What To Eat This Weekend: An ‘Adobada Pizza,’ Eid Mubarak Mocktails, Jerk Chicken, and a New Ukrainian Smokehouse

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<p class="p1">Memo Torres is the Director of Engagement and multimedia journalist for the James Beard award-winning L.A. Taco. He is also the host of the Daily Memo and writes for Apple Maps’ ‘Where Memo Torres Eats in L.A.’ You can see him on Netflix&#8217;s Taco Chronicles and Pressure Cooker.  You can hear him on KCRW’s ‘Good Food’ occasionally. He was a finalist for the Ruben Salazar Award for Latino journalists and a former third-generation landscaper.</p>


Memo Torres

<p>Izzy Ramirez is a Los Angeles-based staff reporter with L.A. TACO, documenting immigration enforcement and state power as it unfolds on the ground. Their work centers real-time alerts and long-term public archiving throughout the Southern California region.</p>


Izzy Ramirez

<p>Erwin Recinos is a seasoned visual artist with an eye for capturing life as a working commuter aboard public transportation in and around Los Angeles. For 20 years now, Recinos has been documenting the urban landscape, street culture, and Hispanic communities of Los Angeles utilizing his daily routine and the city of Los Angeles as an inspiration. Recinos also works with popular food and event websites such as LATACO.com and Eater LA to capture the cuisine and culture that is so important to the city of Los Angeles and across Southern California.</p>


Erwin Recinos

Aisha Wallace-Palomares

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DAILY MEMO: Communities and Lawmakers Start Preparing For ICE’s Next Move

A painting of a Los Angeles street showing makeshift tents, a "New Homes" sign, and Griffith Observatory in the background

Glendale’s Brand Library & Art Center Is Highlighting Southern California’s Independent Artists With Hyper SoCal

<p>Julianne Le is a recent grad from UCLA where she majored in English and minored in Asian American Studies. Maybe it&#8217;s because she isn&#8217;t jaded yet, but she is super eager to peek into the overlooked corners of L.A. and write about them. Le is the former editor-in-chief of UCLA&#8217;s Pacific Ties Newsmagazine and was a finalist for the Associated Collegiate Press&#8217; &#8220;Podcast of the Year&#8221; award in 2024.</p>


Julianne Le

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<div>Ivan Ehlers is an Ecuadorian-American cartoonist and writer. He is a regular contributor to <i>The New Yorker</i>, <i>MAD Magazine</i> and the <i>Los Angeles Times</i>.</div>
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<div>IG: <a id="m_-8957504711371111195plusReplyChip-0" class="gmail_plusreply"></a>@ivan_ehlers</div>


Ivan Ehlers

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Sunday Taquitos #15: Less Lethal Than What?

<p>A.k.a. Afroxander; Weekend Editor at L.A. Taco and a lecturer at San Diego State University. He has covered arts, culture, history, politics, and sports with an emphasis on Latin America and its U.S. diaspora for over two decades.</p>


Ivan Fernandez

Protests

Thousands March on City Hall in Support of Iranian Crown Prince’s Global Day of Action

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