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Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, CA

L.A. TACO

Francisco Avilés Pino is a Mexican writer and producer based in Los Angeles, whose work spans journalism, film, and fine art, exploring how power, identity, and culture shape immigrant and Latino/a life in America. Their work has appeared in the Museum of Contemporary Art-LA, HarperCollins, NPR, Vogue, The Nation, and The Intercept.

Francisco Aviles Pino

Music

For L.A.’s Latinx Punks, Rude Boys, and Metalheads, Moshing Is Ceremony and a Form of Healing

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

Crime

Whittier Woman Busted For Selling Counterfeit COVID-19 Vaccination Cards From China

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

Tacos

This Hidden Taquería Inside a Liquor Store Parking Lot in Fullerton Offers Killer Pambazos and Chiapas-style Enchiladas

Chloe is a Los Angeles writer. Her journalism can be found at The Baffler, Teen Vogue, Commune Magazine and The New Republic.

Chloe H. Watlington

Featured

‘The Big Quit’ of 2021, As Told By Women of Color in Los Angeles

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

‘We’re One Bullet Away From Becoming a Hashtag:’ Santa Ana Community Demands Justice After Unarmed Man is Killed By Police While Having a Mental Health Crisis

Weed

Cheech Marin Is on a Mission to Nourish L.A. Stoners With a New Late-Night Food Delivery Business

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

Investigative Report

How a Mecanico From El Sereno Took On Cops, The D.A. and a Major Construction Project To Hold It Down in His Neighborhood

Cesar Hernandez is Lynwood&#8217;s second best export behind Weird Al, and a writer and podcaster. Illustration by Tommy Gallegos.

Cesar Hernandez

Personal Essay

You Don’t Get to Hate Los Angeles, Unless You Love It

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

‘The Higher the Socks, the Bomber the Taco:’ Where to Find the Downest Taqueros and Crispiest Mesquite-Grilled Tripitas in O.C.

Los Angeles

Proposed ‘Julius Levitt Square’ Seeks to Counter Erasure of Jewish History In Boyle Heights