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Multimedia journalist covering everything under the sun. 562 born and raised. News editor for Talon Marks.

Daniel Suarez

Burrito Track in Whittier, Which Offers 17 Types of Breakfast Burritos, Lives On After 43 Years in Business

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

There Weren’t Enough Porta-Potties for the Homeless To Begin With, in October They’re Being Pulled

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

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

Don Max the beloved Pacoima ice cream vendor setting up post at Humphrey Park on Saturday May 9, 2021.

Street Vending

On a 12-Hour Day, This 73-Year-Old Pacoima Paletero Made $20. Then a Barber Stepped up To Help

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

Noe Antonio Adame is a digital media obsessive that spends too much time watching shitty movies, wrangling his kids, and listening to 90s Pop Punk.

Noe Adame

Pandemic or Not, San Fernando Stays Loyal to Carrillo’s Chewy Flour Tortillas

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

Laura Tejeda

L.A. Taco Guides

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

Memo Torres is the Director of Engagement and multimedia journalist for the James Beard award-winning L.A. Taco. He is also the host of the Daily Memo and writes for Apple Maps’ ‘Where Memo Torres Eats in L.A.’ You can see him on Netflix&#8217;s Taco Chronicles and Pressure Cooker.  You can hear him on KCRW’s ‘Good Food’ occasionally. He was a finalist for the Ruben Salazar Award for Latino journalists and a former third-generation landscaper.

Memo Torres

Tacos

With Three Generations of Carnitas in His Blood, ‘El Pansas’ Is the Valley’s Newest Michoacán-Style Heavyweight

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

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

From SFV to Silver Lake, ‘Chuy’s Pretzels’ Is Highlighting Germany’s Influence in Mexican Culture One Chewy ‘Brezel’ at a Time

San Fernando