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Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, CA

L.A. TACO

Alvaro Huerta, Ph.D., holds a joint faculty appointment in Urban &amp; Region Planning and Ethnic &amp; Women’s Studies at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He’s the author of the book, &#8220;Defending Latina/o Immigrant Communities: The Xenophobic Era of Trump and Beyond.&#8221;

Alvaro Huerta

East Los Angeles

Barrio Wisdom: The Only Time I Ever Feared for My Life Was at the Barrel of a Police Gun

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

Politics

Marching for Black Lives and Cruising to Support Undocumented Immigrants, This Is the New, Progressive Whittier

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

A Drive By Shooting by Police and More Videos of Potential Law Enforcement Misconduct Start to Surface

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

A Latinx Punk Band On a Moving Truck Played a ‘Literal Soundtrack for the Oppressed’ For Protestors in DTLA, Of Course They Were From Pico Rivera

Who Is This White Man Who Harassed El Ruso Out Of His New Highland Park Location?

Mei Lai On, born into this world, grew up on an island and trying to make a positive impact spreading &#8220;Aloha&#8221; around the world. 
Likes: Photojournalism, Documentaries, Immigrants, Small Businesses, Culture, Equal Rights to all. Human Kindness &amp; Compassion.

Mei Lai On

Take a Breath for Now: Mid-City Rebuilds After Saturday’s Demontration Leaves Trail of Broken Windows and Graffiti

L.A. TACO STAFF

It Wasn’t All Looting: A Street-Level Photo Essay of Angelenos Protesting in the Name of George Floyd From Whittier to Santa Monica

An award-winning journalist covering ICE and immigration raids. Host of the Daily Memo. ‘Where Memo Torres Eats’ on Apple Maps. Seen on Netflix, occasionally on KCRW. 3rd-gen landscaper. Proud son of an immigrant. Golden Bear.

Memo Torres

Underground Carnitas and Redemption: Hawthorne’s Backyard Carnitas ‘El Artista’ Dreams of Doing His Pop-Up Full Time

Mariah Castañeda is a feisty multimedia journalist and social media editor.

Mariah Castañeda

After ‘Following All the Rules,’ Ice Is Deporting This Single Mother and Essential Worker Caring for the Homeless

Murder, Shootings, and Excessive Force: Tracking the String of Police Violence that led to CHP Plowing Through Protesters in L.A.