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L.A. TACO

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Neighborhoods

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

Los Angeles

Headlines: LAPD Officer Charged With Distributing Explicit Images of His Wife: ‘My Own Husband Is a Predator’

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

Music

This Lincoln Heights Band Rides Around On A Bike Serenading Los Angeles With Cumbias Pesadas

L.A. TACO STAFF

Featured

Headlines: Lightning Strike Strikes Downtown Long Beach Palm Tree; Police Arrest Sexual Assault Suspect in Lincoln Heights

Headlines: Popular Long Beach Taquero Gets Shut Down By a Police-Assisted Health Department; Dodgers Win 107 Games

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

Food

Three Iconic Dishes In L.A. to Eat and Celebrate Mexican Independence Day

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

Two L.A. Burger Shops Join Boycott Against ‘Martin’s Famous Potato Buns’ Over Donations to Anti-Abortion Politician

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

James Rojas (right) grew up attending and hosting disco parties in East L.A. Photo courtesy of James Rojas.

Culture

‘La Raza Likes to Dance:’ Remembering When Underground Disco Parties Exploded In L.A.’s Eastside In the 70s

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

Community

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

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

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

News

Headlines: Underground Bunker With $9 Million Worth of Weed Found In San Bernardino; Molotov Cocktails Found In Santa Monica Mountains

El Sereno