Bunker Hill ~ Downtown Texas-born Mex-American virtuoso Mr. Vallenato rips on accordion so hard that he has been embraced by Colombian musicians who he now tours with. Mr. Vallenato&#8217;s second song, a blaze through &#8220;La Pava Congona,&#8221; got the dancing started that would endure through the evening. Can you spy the beauty wearing the Colombian…

Grand Performances @ California Plaza ~ Downtown

caption

credit

creditUrl

originalHeight

originalWidth

srcset

height

width

core/image

core/paragraph

core/more

Lizbeth Solorzano is a graduate student pursuing a Master&#8217;s in Specialized Journalism. As a native to Los Angeles, she loves writing stories about arts, culture, and local news. Growing up bilingual, she loved learning about different cultures and stories around L.A.

a girl smiles into the camera in front of a blue background

Lizbeth Solorzano

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

Tucker Collins stands in front of a gallery wall of framed accolades.

Taco Members Only

A Freshman At USC Got a New Camera For Christmas, Then Lost His Eye To a ‘Less-Lethal’ At a Protest

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

a sign in the style of a parking sign: "NO I.C.E. PLEASE GET A REAL JOB"

Signage

Who Is L.A.’s Hero Posting Up These Anti-ICE Parking Signs?

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

A.k.a. Afroxander; Weekend Editor at L.A. Taco and a lecturer at San Diego State University. He has covered arts, culture, history, politics, and sports with an emphasis on Latin America and its U.S. diaspora for over two decades.

Ivan Fernandez

Protests

Thousands March on City Hall in Support of Iranian Crown Prince’s Global Day of Action

A Los Angeles police officer stands facing a red, white, and blue mural by the artist Barbara Kruger. The mural asks nine questions: “Who is beyond the law?”, “Who is bought and sold?”, “Who is free to choose?” “Who does the time?”, “Who follows orders?”, “Who Salutes longest?”, “Who prays loudest?”, “Who dies first?” and “Who laughs last?”.

News

LAPD Replaces ‘Less-Lethal’ Gun ‘Known To Maim People’ With Another ‘Less-Lethal’ Gun Capable Of Doing The Exact Same Thing

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

Featured

As Protests Raged Around Them, this ‘Banned In L.A.’ Punk Band Played to Hundreds At MDC

Kate Stuzin is a senior at USC majoring in journalism with a minor in law and social justice, currently serving as an assignment desk intern at ABC7 Los Angeles. She creates reels on Instagram @bykatestuzin and reports for Annenberg TV News, covering stories across campus and the greater LA community.

Kate Stuzin

a man and woman, a couple, pose together from behind their tea stand

Drink

No Sign, No Menu, and Alcohol-Free: Inside Downtown L.A.’s Hidden Tea Speakeasy

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

Free registration

Please register for L.A. TACO to Vote 

Register to continue

Please Register (For Free) To Read this Story

L.A. TACO

The Ultimate Guide To 2026 World Cup Watch Parties And Fútbol Events In L.A.

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

A giant five pound burger with a red flag in the top, being held by a hand as it sits on a tray

Weekend Eats: Think You Could Handle L.A.’s New Five-Pound Burger?

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

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

A red Know Your Rights card on the ground, in a screenshot from TikTok

DAILY MEMO

Daily Memo: ICE Is Detaining People Who Show The “Know Your Rights” Red Cards

Juan Izguerra is L.A. TACO&#8217;s community coordinator and was born and raised in Pomona, California. As an L.A. resident, Juan enjoys exploring the small, hidden places of the SGV, Inland Empire, and wherever his stomach takes him.

Juan Izguerra

Julianne Le graduated from UCLA in 2025 with a major in English and minor in Asian American Studies. Maybe it&#8217;s because she isn&#8217;t jaded yet, but she is super eager to peek into the overlooked corners of L.A. and write about them. Le is the former editor-in-chief of UCLA&#8217;s Pacific Ties Newsmagazine and was a finalist for the Associated Collegiate Press&#8217; &#8220;Podcast of the Year&#8221; award in 2024.

Julianne Le

L.A. Taco Guides

The 19 Best Moles in L.A., from SFV to South L.A., Ranked

Investigations Newsletter: The Restaurants Feeding L.A’s ‘Most Wanted’ Journalist

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

L.A. TACO’s 2026 Voter Guide

post

Downtown

Héctor Zaldívar is the head of a print magazine and art/music publication titled Dead Relatives. Completely written and designed by Zaldívar, every month subscribers are mailed in-depth stories on different subcultures from graffiti in Latin America to hardcore punk to lowrider culture and back.

Héctor Zaldívar

a young girl dressed in Indigenous clothing