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<p>Jared Cowan writes and podcasts about L.A. filming locations. He also works as a photographer and camera operator.</p>


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Jared Cowan

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Revisiting ‘Mi Familia’ and the Main Filming Location In Boyle Heights 30 Years Later

<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>


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Sara Alvarez

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<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, USC Annenberg Media, 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>
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Valeria Macias

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Culture

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

Screenshot of Friday via New Line Cinema.

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Film

Revisiting the Iconic Film Locations from ‘Friday,’ 30 Years Later

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<p>Jesse Katz is the author of <i>The Rent Collectors: Exploitation, Murder, and Redemption in Immigrant LA</i>, which is a finalist for an <i>L.A. Times</i> book prize and a PEN America literary award. He spent 24 years on staff at the <i>Los Angeles Times</i> and <i>Los Angeles</i> magazine.</p>
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Jesse Katz

Miguel Angel Garcia next to the candle vigil in the alley. Screenshot via Die Like a Man.

Die Like a Man – Miguel Angel Garcia next to the candle vigil in the alley

What ‘Die Like a Man’ Gets Right that Other L.A. Hood Movies Don’t

In a scene from Police Academy 2, Bobcat Goldthwait, left of center, as the Scullians’ leader, Zed, standing around other actors portraying his gang. Screenshot via Warner Bros.

How the Old L.A. Zoo Was Turned Into Police Academy 2’s Punk Hideout, 40 Years Ago

<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>


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Hadley Tomicki

A blue Dodgers hat with pink flowers with smiley faces by Takashi Murakami.

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Sports

Tokyo Art Legend Takashi Murakami Is Making Dodgers Gear Now

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<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>


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Lexis-Olivier Ray

Armored LAPD vehicle parked in the middle of the street during a protest in Downtown.

LAPD Armored Vehicle June 14, 2025

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$32 Million In Two Weeks: The Cost Of Responding To Anti-ICE Protests In The City of L.A.

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National Guard Federal Building June 10, 2025

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Black Lives Matter Leader Reflects On L.A.’s Anti-ICE Protests, Five Years After George Floyd

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L.A. TACO Mix Series: Summer 2025 by EL KEAMO

<p>Marina Watanabe is a multimedia journalist, social media editor, and video creator based in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Previously, she was a social media reporter for 404 by Los Angeles Times and Bitch Media, and her work has been featured by Teen Vogue, Elle, and GLAAD.</p>


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Marina Watanabe

A police officer on a brown horse in front of LA's City Hall

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Protests

Safety Concerns For People and Animals Arise as LAPD Officers on Horseback Swarm L.A. Protestors

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Weekend Eats: A Venice ‘Food Fight’ Fundraiser at the Beach, a New Puerto Rican Spot, and a Pop-Up Mercado United for Immigrants

<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>


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Abraham Marquez

Guitarist Tom Morello under a red light onstage at Echoplex in Echo Park, with abassist to his left

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Live Music

Tom Morello Unites B Real, Pussy Riot, K. Flay and More to “Defend L.A.” at The Echoplex

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<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>


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<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

Inventing Paradise

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