Lucha VaVOOM: Inside America’s Most Outrageous Show is the award-winning documentary from director Ben Churchill and TV4 Entertainment.

Recap ~ Lucha VaVoom ‘Outrageous’ Documentary Screening

align

linkDestination

caption

credit

creditUrl

originalHeight

originalWidth

srcset

height

width

core/image

core/paragraph

core/embed

shortCodeTransforms

columns

linkTo

core/gallery

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

L.A. TACO STAFF

Cannabis flower products are lined up inside a glass case at Green Qween on Sunday, June 30, 2024. Every cannabis product in the store is open to public view, giving guests a sense of transparency that illegal cannabis dispensaries don't tend to offer.

Weed

The 4/20 Guide to Underground Parties and 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

How Photographer Alanna Airitam Got In With Black Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs For Her Show ‘Black Diamonds’ at La Luz De Jesus Gallery

Events

Join L.A. TACO At Homage Brewing, January 29!

a portrait of scientist Francois Tissot in his CalTech lab, next to some vials of liquid and science equipment

‘Lead Contamination: An Old Foe Rises from the Ashes of the Eaton Fire,’ Live With Francois Tissot At Caltech’s Earnest C. Watson Lecture Series

You Showed Up 5,000 Deep On For L.A. TACO’s First Event at The Broad

Nya Manneh is a 22-year-old Master&#8217;s student from Minnesota studying at the University of Southern California. She is passionate about writing stories that highlight underrepresented voices and meeting new people from all walks of life.

Nya Manneh

a crowd of people gather outside at nighttime

This DIY Underground Art Gallery Fights to Survive In a Changing Neighborhood

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

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

Taco Members Only

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Recap ~ Lucha VaVoom ‘Outrageous’ Documentary Screening

Read More:

Stay in touch

More from L.A. TACO

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

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

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

L.A. TACO’s 2026 Voter Guide

A Completely Interactive Guide To L.A. Voter Guides