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Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, CA

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L.A. TACO

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Ben Mesirow is an Echo Park native who writes TV, fiction, food, and sports. At one time or another, his writing has appeared in The LA Times, Litro, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Los Angeles Magazine, and scratched into dozens of desks at Walter Reed Middle School.

Ben Mesirow

1802 Roasters

L.A. Taco Guides

Wake and Roast: The L.A. TACO Guide to Finding the Best Low-Key Local Coffee Beans

Robert Jalón

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Sports

The 19-Year-Old L.A Fútbol Star and UFW Activist Giving Back to His Hometown’s Farmworkers in Lompoc

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.”

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Janette Villafana

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Featured

Against All Odds, a Street Vendor and His Family Open Their First Brick and Mortar Restaurant in East Los Angeles

Scouring the brick jungles of Los Angeles with my arsenal of cameras. In my adventures I am photographing anything that piques my interest.

Erwin Recinos

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Street Art: Muralists Claim Their Wall Space in Compton’s Del Amo Indoor Shopping Center (Photo Essay)

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

Laura Tejeda

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The L.A. Taco Guide To the Family-Run ‘Hood Burgers of Los Angeles Barrios

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

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The 2020 L.A. Taco Book Guide: 32 L.A.-Centered Books to Read, Gift, and Get Inspired On

Mariah Castañeda is a feisty multimedia journalist and social media editor.

Mariah Castañeda

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Politics

(Update) After a Jet Dumped Fuel All Over Her City, Cudahy’s Mayor Is Running for Powerful Air Regulation Governing Board

Capital & Main

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L.A. Street Vendors Are Caught Between COVID and the Law

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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Crime

He Checked Into a UCLA Hospital While Suffering From a Mental Illness, and a Sheriff Shot at Him Nine Times While Trying To Use the Restroom

I document Los Angeles. I walk the streets religiously trying to expose every alley, avenue, and crack the sidewalks have to offer.

Kemal Cilengir

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Photo Essay

‘F*ck Talking. Go Vote:’ Compton Cowboys Roll Deep to Ballot Box to Encourage Early Voting

Compton