The iconic neon sign at the original Tommy’s Burgers location on Rampart Boulevard.
L.A. TACO is embarking on its biggest mission yet: to create a taco and food guide for every single neighborhood in Los Angeles! Along the way, we will also be releasing brief histories of each neighborhood to understand L.A. a little more and celebrate how each and every neighborhood makes our fine city the best in the world.
The best way to know your neighborhood is to walk your neighborhood. Photographing Filipinotown on 35mm film for the past half-decade, I sometimes feel like I've walked every inch of the neighborhood countless times. But while working on this photo essay, I found plenty of places that I was unfamiliar with, from offices, homes, and studio spaces to homeless encampments hidden from the road, new plants, flowers, and murals. The experience reminded me that neighborhoods are constantly changing, and you’ll never see everything.
The iconic neon sign at the original Tommy's Burgers location on Rampart Boulevard.The iconic neon sign at the original Tommy's Burgers location on Rampart Boulevard.Morning light hits one of my favorite store front signs.A Victorian-style house that's been converted into apartments with DTLA skyline views.An elderly man walks by a 20th century craftsman house as it's being demolished.A tree grows out of a wall in a parking lot.A tree grows out of a wall in a parking lot.A sign that's no longer around.A sign that's no longer around.The farmacia in this photo is now Brooklyn Bagels.The pharmacy in this photo is now Brooklyn Bagels.Craftsman homes on a residential street in Historic Filipinotown.A driver kills a man riding a motorized bicycle on a dangerous stretch of Beverly Blvd that has seen numerous fatalities and reckless driving incidents in recent years.A Victorian-style home with Halloween decorations outside.Businesses on the eastern edge of Historic Filipinotown.Body shop on Beverly Boulevard.A body shop on Beverly BoulevardA carniceria on Beverly Boulevard that also has a taco stand.A memorial for Karla Duarte, a young woman who was fatally shot in an abandoned home in Filipinotown.Pinay Coin Laundry.Historic Filipinotown at dusk.
On day 97, ICE raids swept across Southern California, with operations reported in Los Angeles, East LA, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Pomona, Fountain Valley, Jurupa Valley, and Newport Beach, resulting in multiple arrests and community disruptions, including school lockdowns. Meanwhile, broader news revealed Trump’s mass deportation flights shuttling thousands—including infants—into limbo, ICE’s $10M investment in Clearview’s facial recognition, protests against Amy Coney Barrett, the reopening of a massive California detention center, and local immigrant defense efforts amid growing fear and resistance.
Chef Agua is part of a new wave of Salvadoran cooks whose offerings go beyond the typical found at most pupuserias and Salvadoran restaurants, joining the likes of Walking Spanish and L.A. Pupusa.
ICE raids across Southern California targeted multiple locations, including Van Nuys where agents violently detained two men at gunpoint and Fountain Valley where witnesses saw an elderly Asian man dragged from his car, with additional detentions reported in Norwalk, San Fernando, San Bernardino, and elsewhere. Meanwhile, other developments include revelations that ICE is using fake cell towers to spy on phones, DHS claiming that filming raids constitutes “violence,” and the Trump administration ending required paperwork for arrests.
If anyone thinks they are “saving the purity of the American race” by eradicating the Fourth Amendment, they are fools. They’re not saving America; they’re shredding it until there’s nothing of the American promise left worth protecting. Because there is no United States without freedom and the Constitution.
The Supreme Court’s decision to grant Trump a stay on restraining orders has effectively greenlit roaming patrols and racial profiling in Los Angeles, leading to freeway pullovers, smashed car windows, and numerous abductions over the weekend, including at Home Depots, car washes, and residential areas across Southern California. Meanwhile, the ruling has emboldened Homeland Security to expand enforcement with monetary incentives for police, plans to reopen abusive detention centers, and mass deportation flights—where Bill Gates’ company, Signature Aviation, plays a key role in transporting detainees.
Ron Gochez, a member of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and leader of Unión del Barrio, said, “The same government that claims there isn’t enough money for affordable housing or healthcare somehow finds billions to spend on foreign wars and occupation.”
