Oh, yes there are worse things than being alone but it often takes decades to realize this and most often when you do it&#8217;s too late and there&#8217;s nothing worse than too late. Charles Bukowski Photo by M. Avelar

My Afternoon With Bukowski ~ P.V.

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<p>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.</p>


Julianne Le

a book cover depicting Los Angeles' cityscape

Books

You Think L.A. Smog is Bad Now? Let’s Set the Record Straight

<p>A.k.a. Afroxander; Editor-At-Large (formerly 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.</p>


Ivan Fernandez

Culture

Exploring Historic Palestine’s Buried Landmarks

From Prison to Major Museums and His First Book, Mr. Wash Is Now Building a Community Art Center

<p>Mike Sonksen aka Mike the PoeT is a 3rd-generation Los Angeles native. Poet, professor, journalist, historian and tour-guide, his latest book &#8220;Letters to My City&#8221; was just published by Writ Large Press. He teaches at Woodbury University.</p>


Mike Sonksen

The 25 Best L.A.-Centric Books Of 2025

a man poses, and a book showing Bruce Lee punching is photoshopped next to him

Featured

This New Book on the Rise of Asian America Is Much More Than Just a Bruce Lee Biography

<p>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.</p>


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.

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

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L.A. TACO

<div>Ivan Ehlers is an Ecuadorian-American cartoonist and writer. He is a regular contributor to <i>The New Yorker</i>, <i>MAD Magazine</i> and the <i>Los Angeles Times</i>.</div>
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<div>IG: <a id="m_-8957504711371111195plusReplyChip-0" class="gmail_plusreply"></a>@ivan_ehlers</div>


Ivan Ehlers

Sunday Taquitos #29: U-S-A!

Sports

Why Are Mexicans Chanting ‘¿Y Si Sí?’ Right Now?

<p>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.</p>


Lexis-Olivier Ray

<p><span class="il">Lizbeth</span> 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.</p>


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

Lizbeth Solorzano

an LAPD officer on a horse raises his baton

Investigative Report

Lakers Fan Injured By LAPD During NBA Finals Celebrations Receives Historic Multimillion Dollar Payout

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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

Food

Burrito King In Echo Park, 1968-2026

<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 painting showing three skulls with a colorful background featuring Spanish text, smaller skulls, and th heading Pobre Sonador and "Before I Die" on the bottom

World Cup Heartbreak Hurts. This Artist Turned That Pain Into New Paintings

<p>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.</p>


Juan Izguerra

Inland Empire

On Pomona’s Identity Crisis, Is it Los Angeles County or the Inland Empire?

<p>Former editor of L.A. Taco. I still live in Los Angeles but mainly just hang out at parks and stare off into the distance.</p>


Erich Redson

post

A book cover of "Gray Dawn" by Walter Mosley. It depicts an old-fashioned car in front of a building resembling a motel. There is a light purple sunset and palm trees in the background.