[dropcap size=big]L[/dropcap]os Angeles based artist Ralph Ziman – aka Afrika 47 – has a new exhibit at The Rendon Gallery in the Arts District. L.A. Taco attended the opening of the exhibit called The Casspir Project, which features work inspired by Ziman's childhood in Johannesburg. Ziman's works draw from experiences growing up in post-Apartheid South Africa and "addresses human rights issues such as apartheid, the over-militarization of police, and state violence."
'The centerpiece of the exhibit is a massive Casspir military vehicle that Ziman has transformed into a work of art. During the Apartheid era, Casspirs were used weapons of terror, often used against civilians. Widely despised and feared, they became synonymous with violence, police intimidation, and institutional oppression. Post-Apartheid, many Casspirs were decommissioned, their hulls left to rust, a relic of the past better forgotten. Others were sold to the United States during the Iraq war years, and later, to local police forces.'
"There are times in the middle of the night when I wake up thinking I’m back in that same place, because it's terrifying," the Glass House Farms worker and mother tells L.A. TACO, one year after the raids.
You have two days left to eat at the taquería that survived a drive-by in the 90s and is beloved by Brad Pitt and Johnny Knoxville. We sat down with the owners to go down memory lane with them and remember when Bourdain stopped by to try his favorite lengua tacos.
California City Chair David Brottlund told one attendee to “shut their mouth.” He issued warnings throughout the meeting that he could have individuals removed from the chambers.
Phillip Cejudo grew up serving tostadas at El Mar Azul, and currently oversees his own Venice breakfast street stand by a truck he calls home. His hope is to open Rosie's Canteen in a vintage Airstream and bring wholesome food back to the community that raised him.
