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L.A. TACO

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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

Culture

Backyard Punk-Inspired ‘BYO Gaming’ Lounge Offers East L.A. Youth Another Way to Fight

L.A. TACO STAFF

Meet Our Award-Winning Staff That Your Memberships Directly Support

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

L.A. Is Banning ‘Fixing Bikes on the Street’ To Curb Theft, Critics Argue it’s Going to Affect Black and Brown Communities the Most

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

Elephant Hill Has Become a ‘Secret’ Off-Road Area In El Sereno, But Residents Are Defending It At All Costs

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

This South Central Mom Quit Her Job and Opened a Mangonada Stand to Make a Better Life For Her Daughter

BREAKING: Over 50 Street Vendors Removed From K-Town’s ‘El Salvador Corridor’ By Cedillo’s Office

L.A. TACO’s and Neon Hum’s “The Sellout” Podcast Was Nominated for a Webby Award, Vote For Us to Win!

David Rodríguez

How a North Hollywood Swap Meet Beat Gentrification and Won Over Its Landlord

Capital & Main

Longtime SELA Residents ‘Disillusioned’ After Finding Out Two Facilities Are Emitting a Carcinogen Into Their Air

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

Music

Update: Despite Past Controversies, A Boyle Heights Street Will Be Named For Vicente Fernandez After All