Over 3,600 of you showed up hungry for tacos and a good time at our 14th annual live taco festival. The energy and excitement for hyperlocal journalism were palpable. You all sold us out and nearly every single one of our ten handpicked taquerías. Here are some of our favorite moments of the night.

Our Favorite Scenes From TACO MADNESS 2023 (Photo Essay)

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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

An open face brain taco next to a rolled one on a white place next to a white bowl of consome

Food

Weekend Eats: Sinaloan Tacos De Sesos Storm South Gate

L.A. TACO STAFF

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

Taco Gobernador with a sliced acovado on top.

Tacos

The 24 Best Fish and Seafood Tacos In Los Angeles, Mapped

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

A.k.a. Afroxander; 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.

Ivan Fernandez

Protests

Thousands March on City Hall in Support of Iranian Crown Prince’s Global Day of Action

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

A Los Angeles police officer stands facing a red, white, and blue mural by the artist Barbara Kruger. The mural asks nine questions: “Who is beyond the law?”, “Who is bought and sold?”, “Who is free to choose?” “Who does the time?”, “Who follows orders?”, “Who Salutes longest?”, “Who prays loudest?”, “Who dies first?” and “Who laughs last?”.

News

LAPD Replaces ‘Less-Lethal’ Gun ‘Known To Maim People’ With Another ‘Less-Lethal’ Gun Capable Of Doing The Exact Same Thing

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

Featured

As Protests Raged Around Them, this ‘Banned In L.A.’ Punk Band Played to Hundreds At MDC

L.A. Taco Guides

The 24 Best Tamales In Los Angeles

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L.A. TACO

Vote Now For Your Favorite L.A. Taquerias In TACO MADNESS 2026

Dr. Gabriel Buelna holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Claremont Graduate University and serves as a faculty member in the Chicana/o Studies Department at California State University, Northridge. He is the founder and principal attorney of The Buelna Law Firm, A.P.C., based in South Pasadena, where he focuses on Family and Criminal Law. In addition to his academic and legal work, Dr. Buelna serves as an elected Trustee for the Los Angeles Community College District.
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Dr. Buelna is fully bilingual in English and Spanish, allowing him to effectively serve and advocate for diverse communities across Los Angeles. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:gabriel@buelnalaw.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gabriel@buelnalaw.com</a>. Follow him on TikTok @TacosAndLaw or visit <a href="http://www.buelnalaw.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.buelnalaw.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1750964813950000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1Njv5I6LbOH4Mhu0M6otpZ">www.buelnalaw.com</a>.
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Gabriel Buelna

Enrique M. Buelna is a faculty member in the History Department at Cabrillo College. He specializes in Chicano history with an emphasis on class, race, labor, radical activism, civil rights, immigration, culture, and identity. He is the author of Chicano Communists and the Struggle for Social Justice (2019). Dr. Buelna earned his doctorate in history from the University of California, Irvine, and holds an M.A. in Public Administration from the University of Washington, Seattle.

Enrique M. Buelna

Culture

The Second Death of Cesar Chavez: Investigating Generational Fraud

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

Ivan Ehlers

Sunday Taquitos #21: Trump’s Other Gas Problem

All Elite Wrestling Lets Its Wrestlers Speak Freely – And The Fans (And Business) Are Responding

L.A. TACO’s Protest Survival Guide

the exterior of an ICE processing facility

14th Death In ICE Custody This Year: Man Dies at Adelanto ICE Processing Center On Wednesday Night

Esteban Rey Jimenez

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Downtown

Kate Stuzin is a senior at USC majoring in journalism with a minor in law and social justice, currently serving as an assignment desk intern at ABC7 Los Angeles. She creates reels on Instagram @bykatestuzin and reports for Annenberg TV News, covering stories across campus and the greater LA community.

Kate Stuzin

a man and woman, a couple, pose together from behind their tea stand