Los Angeles Mayor, Boyle Heights native, and close friend to TACO Tony Villaraigosa spent some time talking Mexican eats with us last week at the 20th birthday of the Anaya family&#8217;s Silverlake stalwart Cha Cha Cha. In between wrestling LAUSD&#8217;s myriad disfunctions and Skid Row&#8217;s 7 circles of Hell, our hardworking stud of a mayor…

My Favorite Taco ~ Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

linkDestination

core/image

core/paragraph

<p>Abraham Marquez is a freelance writer from Inglewood and a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). He is a 2021 USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism Fellow. He writes about social movements, sports, politics, and immigration. Instagram: @abemarquez02</p>


Abraham Marquez

Food

A Hidden Nayarit Mariscos Gem Next to a Boyle Heights Landmark

<p>Andrew Lopez is a Los Angeles native with roots all over the Eastside. He comes to Boyle Heights from Oakland, where he earned a master’s degree at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. He enjoys covering the intersections between art, culture and history within communities. Andrew is part of the inaugural cohort of the California Local News Fellowship and will be supporting Boyle Heights Beat into 2025.</p>


Andrew Lopez

A customer picks up an order from the heavily stickered window at Jason’s Tacos in East L.A.

Locked Doors, Warning Signs, and a Pivot to Delivery: How Eastside Businesses Are Adapting Amid ICE Raids

<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><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

Fried chicken with plantains, toppings and a special sauce.

Downtown

A Running List of Mom N’ Pop Businesses In Danger Of Closing That Need Community Support Right Now

<p>Sara Alvarez is a bilingual multimedia journalist and undergraduate studying Public Relations and Advertising at USC Annenberg. She is currently a Social Media Intern for L.A. TACO, and the Social Media Manager for Annenberg Media’s Latine news desk, Dímelo. Born and raised in the Bay Area, her coverage focuses on community reporting, news, and popular culture.</p>


Sara Alvarez

<div class="contents_d3ae0d">
<div id="message-content-1250858460501901333" class="markup_a7e664 messageContent_abea64">Valeria Macias is a student reporter at USC, where she double majors in Journalism and NGOs and social change. Through her work in publications like the LA Times, NBC, Telemundo, Boyle Heights Beat, ABC7, and many others, Macias has amplified the voices within her local communities. Most of her reporting focuses on the local Angelino community and shines a light on issues of gentrification, street vending, city government, and more.</div>
</div>
<div id="message-accessories-1250858460501901333" class="container__62863">
<div class="visualMediaItemContainer__582ad">
<div class="oneByOneGrid__36e03 oneByOneGridSingle__8c6ef">
<div class="mosaicItem__2e894 mosaicItemNoJustify_ef758c mosaicItemMediaMosaic_ac9e71 hideOverflow__5f669">
<div class="imageContent__0fe2a embedWrapper__47b23 itemContentContainer__77d7f mosaicItemContent__289da">
<div class="imageContainer__1b5e9">
<div class="imageWrapper__178ee imageZoom__9528e clickable__2869d lazyImgContainer_b0a5df"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>


Valeria Macias

Culture

Barrio to Broadway: How ‘Homeboys, the Musical’ Turns Trauma Into Acapelas

A handful of backyard chicken eggs in Boyle Heights.

Boyle Heights

In Boyle Heights, Backyard Chickens and Generous Neighbors Combat Rising Egg Prices 

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

<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>
<div></div>
<div>IG: <a id="m_-8957504711371111195plusReplyChip-0" class="gmail_plusreply"></a>@ivan_ehlers</div>


Ivan Ehlers

Sunday Taquitos #28: Get Out, LOSER!

<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

What You Need To Know About ICE At The FIFA World Cup

<h3 class="iw gFxsud"><span class="qu yKyxu" role="gridcell" data-hovercard-id="karinawsoriano@gmail.com" data-hovercard-hover-trigger-disabled="true"><span class="gD" data-hovercard-id="karinawsoriano@gmail.com" data-hovercard-owner-id="13">Karina Soriano </span></span></h3>


Karina Soriano

Taco Members Only

L.A TACO’s 2026 Guide To Free Summer Concerts in L.A.

A Ninja Turtles themed bar with neon signs showing a Ninja Turtle and a sign that says "Taking in pies and bad guys since 1984!"

A Ninja Turtles-Themed Pizzeria with a Serious New York Slice

<div>Chelsea Vega is a writer, content creator, and commentator exploring Latino identity and culture. Her perspective is shaped in part by her career as a sports marketer, where she led campaigns designed to connect with Latino audiences and saw firsthand how Latino identity is often misunderstood and marketed by corporations. Through her reporting, she examines the intersections of race, history, and modern Latino life, exploring conversations many people avoid but millions are already having.</div>


Chelsea Vega

When Pedro Arrests Juan: Why Latinos Join Border Patrol and ICE 

<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>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

<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

A woman known as Ms. Rachel holds a child, who puts their head on her shoulder while holding a toy truck

DAILY MEMO

Daily Memo: Ms. Rachel Visits D.C. With 545 Letters From Children Currently Being Detained By I.C.E.

post

<p>Melissa Mora Hidalgo was born in Montebello and grew up in the L.A./O.C. borderlands of East Whittier and La Habra. She holds a Ph. D. in Literature from UC San Diego and is the author of Mozlandia: Morrissey Fans in the Borderlands (Headpress UK, 2016).</p>
