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Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, CA

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L.A. TACO

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Shaka Mali is a first generation Jamaican American writer, host and producer who grew up in Southern California. He is a writer, producer and announcer on the LAist Studios Podcast WILD. He is also a KCRW Radio Race finalist and winner of the The L.A. Award. You can find him hanging out with his God mama Gail in Venice Beach or on instagram @ ShakaMaLi3 or at shakamali.com.

Shaka M. Tafari

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In the 90s, Venice Beach Was a Place Where an Unhoused Person Was Treated Like Your Neighbor

Rich Manning is a freelance writer who lives in Fountain Valley, CA with his wife and two daughters, and is likely eating a burrito as you read this.

Rich Manning

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Food

More Than Your Favorite Peruvian Dish: Exploring the Dark History of Lomo Saltado’s Cross-Cultural Roots

Melissa was born in Moreno Valley, raised in Arizona, and recently returned from living in México, the motherland. She lives by the words: “siempre en la calle.” USC and Fulbright alum, but don’t tell her to &#8220;Fight On.&#8221;

Melissa Montalvo

Locals remember club 469 on the Latin Strip. Photo courtesy of Stella Chavezjpg

History

While Hollywood Had the Sunset Strip, East L.A. Had the ‘Latin Strip’

Myriam Gurba is a critic and anti-pendejx. She is the author of Mean, a memoir that blends horror, humor, and true-crime.

Myriam Gurba

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Community

How a Brown Preacher and His Anti-LGBTQ Hate Group Is Re-invigorating a Legacy of Bigotry in the San Gabriel Valley

Zachary Warma works in public affairs in Los Angeles. He has previously written about the legacy of Joseph Le Conte, the ex-Confederate UC Berkeley professor and Sierra Club co-founder.

Zachary Warma

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Featured

L.A.’s Lesser-Known Racist History: The Confederate Mayor Who Was Anti-Mexican and Tried to Make California Into a Slave State

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

5-August 29 1970 Tierra y Libertad-Chicano Moratorium

When Mexican Americans Transformed Into Chicanos and Chicanas: Remembering East L.A.’s Chicano Moratorium 50 Years Ago

I enjoy exploring every corner of Los Angeles, looking for art wherever I can find it.

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Blazedale

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Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Mayor Who Was Also a KKK Leader

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; This year, 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.

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Lexis-Olivier Ray

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‘This is the Beginning of Healing:’ Descendents of Tongva, Chumash, and Tataviam Tribes Organized the Toppling of Junípero Serra Statue In the Birthplace of L.A.

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L.A. TACO STAFF

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

Joe is an LA-based writer with a penchant for electoral politics, local histories, and a good club sandwich now and again. He’s a founding member of FORTHE.org, an independent media outlet in Long Beach.

Joe Brizzolara

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Before ‘Chinese Virus,’ There Was ‘Mexican Disease’ in L.A.: Remembering the Burning of the City’s ‘Mexican Village’ in 1924