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Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, CA

L.A. TACO

Lexis-Olivier Ray is an award-winning staff investigative reporter for L.A. TACO known for holding powerful people in Los Angeles accountable and his reporting on Los Angeles culture. As well as an artist and filmmaker. In 2022, the Society of Professional Journalists&#8217; Los Angeles chapter named Ray one of their &#8220;distinguished journalists.&#8221; In 2023, Ray won a second place Anthem Award in their Health Innovation category for a texting service geared towards the unhoused community and service providers that he launched in 2021 with L.A. TACO and Subtext. Ray was a 2020 USC Center For Health Journalism (CHJ) Data Fellow. As well as a 2022 CHJ Impact Fellow. As a freelancer, Ray has contributed to the L.A. Times, Men&#8217;s Health Magazine, KCET and SFGATE.

Lexis-Olivier Ray

Featured

Do CBD Drinks Actually Calm Your Anxiety? We Tested Some to Find Out (Plus THC-Ones, Too)

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.

Hadley Tomicki

Tacos

Taco of the Week: This Cocktail Bar-Taquería Hybrid Makes the Most Tender Handmade Tortillas On Melrose  

L.A. TACO STAFF

News

Headlines: L.A.’s Water Restrictions Help Reduce June Water Use by 9%; Truck Drivers Stop Traffic on the 710 to Protest

More Than 140 L.A. Times Staff Members Demand The Times Stop Surprise Testing New Hires For Weed

Headlines: Punk Legends Descendents Not Down With Oath Keeper Wearing Their Shirt; An Apology For Forcibly Sterilizing Over 200 Women

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.”

Janette Villafana

Street Vendors Yell ‘This is Not a Crime’ As Taquero is Handcuffed By San Bernardino PD and Code Enforcement

Gilberto Godoy Jr is born and raised in Huntington Park, Los Angeles. His passion for photography has led him to showcase the authentic side of L.A.

Gilberto Godoy Jr.

Photo Essay

The First Lowriders On the 6th Street Bridge

Headlines: Jill Biden Apologizes For ‘Breakfast Tacos’ Gaffe Towards Latinos; Dodger Stadium Workers Agree to Strike Before All-Star Game

An LAPD officer points a "less-lethal" rifle at a photographer, while a group of officers stands in the background.

Crime

Is Arizona’s New Ban on Filming the Police In L.A.’s Future?

Professional punk and Editor-In-Chief for James Beard Award-winning L.A. TACO. Associate Producer for JBA-winning Las Crónicas Del Taco. Former restaurant scout for Jonathan Gold. Co-author of &#8220;Oaxaca: Home Cooking From the Heart of Mexico (2019, Abrams) and &#8220;Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling&#8221; (2023, Abrams).

Javier Cabral

Culture

Backyard Punk-Inspired ‘BYO Gaming’ Lounge Offers East L.A. Youth Another Way to Fight

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