Downey is home to the first Taco Bell, L.A.'s oldest McDonald's, and the largest Cuban population west of the Mississippi. It also helped put people on the moon.

Downey: 7 Facts You Need To Know

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<p>Erick Galindo is an award-winning writer, director, and journalist from Southeast L.A. His work spans TV, film, podcasts, and essays that explore the intersection of identity, culture, and chaos in Los Angeles.</p>


Erick Galindo

Food

A Summer of Caldos: The Best 10 Mexican Stews, Ranked

<p><span class="OYPEnA font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none">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.”</span></p>


Janette Villafana

Pelusa sit in her enclosure just a few feet away from her brother Toby.

Neighborhoods

Pets Left Behind Due to L.A.’s ICE Raids Are Urgently In Need of New Homes

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<p dir="ltr">Jake Hook is a local food historian in Los Angeles. They run the Diner Preservation Society, dedicated to highlighting the city&#8217;s traditional food culture. Follow him on Instagram at @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/dinertheory/">DinerTheory</a>.</p>
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Jake Hook

The two owners of Uncle Henry's Deli, a man and a woman, with their arms around each other, facing forward

A Fire Gutted Uncle Henry’s Deli, a 66-Year Sandwich and Craft Beer Sanctuary In Downey

A comedian in a black t-shirt and Dodgers cap speaks into a microphone onstage while holding one hand out to his side

Culture

This Downey-Raised Comedian Is Emptying His Pockets To Help Street Vendors

<p>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.</p>


Hadley Tomicki

A pink and blue cake that says Abolish ICE

Support These Tacos, Burritos, And Tattoos That Give Back To Immigrants

<p>Eli Lopez Beltran is a fashion stylist, public relations professional, and dedicated gourmand living in Los Angeles, CA. She lives for burgers and adobada tacos.</p>


Eli Lopez Beltran

Drink

The 11 Best Places to Drink Ultra-Refreshing Tejuino In L.A.

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L.A. TACO

<p>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.</p>


Izzy Ramirez

Protests

L.A. TACO’s Protest Survival Guide

the exterior of an ICE processing facility

14th Death In ICE Custody This Year: Man Dies at Adelanto ICE Processing Center On Wednesday Night

An open face brain taco next to a rolled one on a white place next to a white bowl of consome

Weekend Eats: Sinaloan Tacos De Sesos Storm South Gate

<p class="p1">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.</p>


Memo Torres

<p>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.</p>


Erwin Recinos

News

Daily Memo: ICE Is Ramping Up Operations With New Vehicles and Coachella Valley Is Being Targeted This Week

<p>Odessa Hairapetian is a community-rooted journalist who tells stories of the underrepresented, underground, and unknown. She is passioned by the draw between art and people and empowered by conversation.</p>


Odessa Hairapetian

a man in a flannel (left), the same man with his back turned, showing his back-of-head tattoo which is a man's face (right)

The Highs and Lows of BIG SLEEPS, Legendary Pico-Union Graffiti Artist Turned Kidney Disease Activist

Aisha Wallace-Palomares

a map with Homeland Security logos marking holding facilities in the U.S.

California’s Shadowy ICE Holding Rooms Detained at Least 17,351 People Last Year

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Downey

L.A. TACO STAFF

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