Photo by Tom Andrews from Tuesday night&#8217;s raid. There were no reports of pepper spray or teargas used in the late-night clearance of the park.

Gas Masks ~ #OccupyLA Downtown

linkDestination

caption

credit

creditUrl

originalHeight

originalWidth

srcset

height

width

core/image

core/paragraph

Marina Watanabe is director of video and a reporter at L.A. TACO based in Koreatown. Previously, she worked as a video reporter for 404 by Los Angeles Times and a video producer at Condé Nast publications Teen Vogue, Glamour, and Them.

Marina Watanabe

Rows of burned cars in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire that destroyed much of Altadena in January, 2025. Photo by Maks Ksenjak for L.A. TACO.

Books

We Don’t Need to Imagine Octavia Butler’s Post-Apocalyptic L.A. It’s Already Here.

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

Den of Den's Tea posing next to their mascot.

People

L.A.’s Hidden Matcha Master: Masanori Den Shirakata, the Low-Key Legend Only Insiders Know

Shawn Stern playing at the Terragram Ballroom on Sunday, May 18th, 2025.

Interview

Punk Icon Shawn Stern On the World’s Best Underground Scene (and Surviving Slam Dancing in the Desert)

Obituary

The L.A. Food and Drink World Mourns Jose “Chuy” Tovar, a Community Legend, Dead at 55

Alexis Zhou (she/her) is a freelance writer. Always down for hot pot, H Mart, and housing policy reforms.

Alexis Zhou

Food

Homeless Chinese Man In DTLA Goes Viral With ‘American-Style Begging’  Videos, Branding Him Both a Hero and Villain Across the Pacific

Yaileen Ramos is a young Latina born and raised in East L.A. In her free time, she enjoys watching the Dodgers and Lakers. Yaileen aspires to be synonymous with her city.

Yaileen Ramos

New Dancing With the Stars champions Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy

Echo Park’s Own Xochitl Gomez Wins The Finale of Dancing With the Stars

Explore

Footer - NEW

Legal Footer

Main - NEW

Mobile

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

This is member's only content.

Members get unlimited access to all of our stories, along with incredible perks like free tacos, invites to our events, access to our mobile app, and much more!

Become a Member of L.A. TACO

Register to continue

L.A. TACO

Izzy Ramirez is a Los Angeles-based staff reporter with L.A. TACO, documenting immigration enforcement and state power as it unfolds on the ground. Their work centers real-time alerts and long-term public archiving throughout the Southern California region.

Izzy Ramirez

Erwin Recinos is a seasoned visual artist with an eye for capturing life as a working commuter aboard public transportation in and around Los Angeles. For 20 years now, Recinos has been documenting the urban landscape, street culture, and Hispanic communities of Los Angeles utilizing his daily routine and the city of Los Angeles as an inspiration. Recinos also works with popular food and event websites such as LATACO.com and Eater LA to capture the cuisine and culture that is so important to the city of Los Angeles and across Southern California.

Erwin Recinos

Daily Memo: ICE Returns to Downtown LA ISAP Office, Increases Raids in the Inland Empire

Blending her time in the kitchen as a line cook with her passion for storytelling, Lauren Bethke writes about community, inclusivity and the city she loves the most—Los Angeles.

a woman sits outside wearing a black long sleeve outfit

Lauren Bethke

L.A. Taco Guides

The Best Restaurants in L.A., According to Punks

L.A. TACO STAFF

The left three panels of Sandy Rodriguez's "Book 13" map at The Huntington

You Can Now View a 20-Foot Map of U.S. Detention Centers at The Huntington

Daily Memo: ICE Shoots At Man in Central Valley and ICE Takes People in the Coachella Valley and Glendora

Tacos

We Mapped All 64 TACO MADNESS Competitors, From Palms to Pomona

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

News

Daily Memo: The 15th Death In ICE Detention and ICE is Slowly Escalating

post

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.”