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Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, CA

L.A. TACO

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

‘The Goal Is to Empower Them:’ Stylists Offer Free Hair and Makeup For Prom to ‘Special Population’ Students In Huntington Park

Sam Ribakoff is a reporter, journalism teacher, communicator for labor unions, and a nice guy from Long Beach.

a man stands in front of a mural with a pig in a police hat being crossed out

Sam Ribakoff

Politics

The L.A. TACO Voter Guide: A ‘Progressive Sheriff’ Candidate and  a ‘People’s Judge’

L.A. TACO STAFF

News

Headlines: L.A. Water Restrictions Go Into Effect Today; Debating the Term “Cali”

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

Surrounded By SWAT and K9 Units, Suspect Escapes Cops and Armored Vehicles in El Segundo, After Hours Long Standoff

a cartoon taco man giving a thumbs up next to a voting ballot and outline of California

Our Guide to The Mayor’s Race: Who Won’t Release Tax Returns and Who Got Cash From Samuel L. Jackson

Tacos

A Tiktok Chef Making a ‘Taco de Sal’ (Salt Taco) Is Going Viral For Pranking Everyone

Headlines: Two Shot at Marina Del Rey Restaurant; $50 Burrito Sold at Davos

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

Weed

Blaze It: A New Santa Monica Restaurant Hotboxes Cocktails With a Gravity Bong and Tobacco Terpenes

Headlines: SoCal Students Stage Walkouts to Protest Gun Violence; Rick Caruso Still “Has No Climate Plan”

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

BREAKING: Street Food Vendors Everywhere Threatened By Santa Monica Senator’s New SB-1290