Explore

Footer - NEW

Legal Footer

Main - NEW

Mobile

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

This is member's only content.

Members get unlimited access to all of our stories, along with incredible perks like free tacos, invites to our events, access to our mobile app, and much more!

Become a Member of L.A. TACO

Free registration

Please register for L.A. TACO to Vote 

Register to continue

Please Register (For Free) To Read this Story

Register (Free) To Read This Guide

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

Homelessness

In Sunny Los Angeles, More Homeless People Die From the Cold Than in SF and NYC, Combined

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

Featured

East Los Street Vendor Pushes Through After Being Attacked and Robbed While Selling Fruit in Long Beach

Melissa Mora Hidalgo was born in Montebello and grew up in the L.A./O.C. borderlands of East Whittier and La Habra. She holds a Ph. D. in Literature from UC San Diego and is the author of Mozlandia: Morrissey Fans in the Borderlands (Headpress UK, 2016).

Melissa Mora Hidalgo

El Monte

Dr. Beer Butch: To Survive the Pandemic, This South El Monte Brewery Started an Experimental ‘Beer Club’

Lover of pizza and hardcore, Jessie Castro is originally from northeast L.A. and is the founder of the SGV punk band, Hungry Ass Youth.

Jessie Castro

Obituary

Old Punks Never Die: Remembering San Gabriel Valley’s Hardcore Scene Legend, James “YAPO” Valenzuela

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

Three Mexico City-Style Recipes To Hold You Over Until the Next Time You Can Travel There

Capital & Main

News

As COVID-19 Workplace Complaints Pile Up, Worker Protections Face Pushbacks

Erick Huerta likes to eat his Hot-Cheetos with chopsticks.

Erick Huerta

A Bell Gardens-Raised Latinx Artist Creates a Comic Book to Challenge SELA’s Negative Stereotypes

Politics

Vons and Other Supermarkets Will Soon Start Replacing Their Delivery Drivers With Gig Service Contractors

Ural Garrett is an Inglewood native and graduate of Southern University And A&amp;M College. For over a decade, the content curator and social media strategist has worked alongside various brands and outlets including Complex, IGN, MTVNews, Oculus, Trigger Mix Reality, TechRadar, LA Weekly, and more.

Ural Garrett

Food

36 Years of Vegan Soul Food: How Simply Wholesome Built a Black Utopia of Wellness in L.A.

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.

Memo Torres

Opinión: Taqueros, Guarden La Salsa. Es Hora De Tomar En Serio Las Precauciones Contra COVID-19

All Articles