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Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, CA

L.A. TACO

Acton

Adams-Normandie

Agoura Hills

Agua Dulce

Alhambra

Alondra Park

Altadena

Angeles Crest

Arcadia

Arleta

Arlington Heights

Artesia

Athens

Atwater Village

Avalon

Avocado Heights

Azusa

Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw

Baldwin Park

Bel-Air

Bell

Bell Gardens

Bellflower

Beverly Crest

Beverly Grove

Beverly Hills

Beverlywood

Boyle Heights

Bradbury

Brentwood

Broadway-Manchester

Burbank

Calabasas

Canoga Park

Carson

Carthay

Castaic

Castaic Canyons

Central-Alameda

Century City

Neighborhoods

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 Vending

Despite Public Pressure and Two Meetings with Cedillo, Displaced Ave 26 Street Vendors Still Have No Answers

Over 100 Latino Street Vendors Left in Uncertainty After NELA Councilmember Cedillo Shuts Down Avenue 26 Night Market Without Notice

Kamren Curiel is a fourth-generation Chicana born in East L.A. and raised in South San Gabriel. She&#8217;s written for the L.A.Times, Latina, LAist, KCET, Huffington Post, and was the L.A. Editor for Remezcla.com.

Kamren Curiel

From Zacatecas to El Sereno, Meet the 97-Year-Old Honey Man Who Is Quite Possibly L.A.’s Oldest Beekeeper

Laura is a desmadrosa, a product of East Los, an educator, and a hood establishment connoisseur.

Laura Tejeda

Food

Cudahy’s Patata Street Food Row Is Southeast L.A.’s Most Exciting (and Vulnerable) Eating Destination in Los Angeles

Gabriel Chabrán is a food writer and journalist from Highland Park. He currently lives in Long Beach with his wife Katie, their new baby, and their Russian Blue cat, Mars.

Gab Chabran

Music

A Brief History of L.A.’s Thriving Cumbia Party Scene and Where to Go Dance to It On Weekends

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

Meet the Indigenous Purépecha in Venice’s Neighborhood Council Hoping to Make His Hometown More Equitable for All

Mike Sonksen aka Mike the PoeT is a 3rd-generation Los Angeles native. Poet, professor, journalist, historian and tour-guide, his latest book &#8220;Letters to My City&#8221; was just published by Writ Large Press. He teaches at Woodbury University.

Mike Sonksen

Obituary

Remembering DJ Al Jackson, the Voice of the Soul Children

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

Garcetti Said That L.A.’s Hand-Washing Stations for the Homeless Were Regularly Refilled, Records Obtained Show Otherwise

Luis and Maria standing under an e-z up holding plates of food.

Tacos

Mornings On Avenue 26: Meet This Lincoln Heights Family Fulfilling A Carnitas Dream

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

Taco Madness

And the Winner of Taco Madness 2021 Is Villa’s Tacos! Meet Your New Champion

Lincoln Heights