It’s that time of year again, when L.A. TACO goes over the most memorable posts from the year. And damn, we can’t wait for this year to be finished, not sure about you guys.
So without further delay ...
One of our favorite posts in 2017 is “What Are the Really Real L.A. Movies,” a favorite-movie list compiled with interviews with some of our most faithful L.A. TACO contributors. Writer Tien Nguyen chose Set It Off, saying: “Her character [Cleo] solidified the link between Set It Off and Boyz n the Hood and, in the process, challenged the misogyny in so much of LA hip hop culture at the time.”
We published Where you From, a poem by a young Filipino poet named Eddy M. Gana Jr. “I’m from California/The state with a roadmap of memories, I feel connected.”
In the summer writer Chuck Morse delved into the recent history of an L.A. food icon, the Luna Sol Cafe. Operating in MacArthur Park between 1996 and 2003, Luna Sol was a horizontal worker-run collective kitchen, which Morse describes as one of few in California history.
Back in August we interviewed L.A. icon Angelyne, the buxom billboard queen. The interview marked her first public comments following the Hollywood Reporter article delving into her life story, which will reportedly now become a feature film.
King Acne is the alter ego of Mahir Uddin, son of Bangladeshi immigrants from Westlake, who produced and rapped on his concept album that we debuted back in June.
Towards the end of the year, under our new Editor, Daniel Hernandez, we were able to bring fresh energy and new voices into the L.A. TACO fold. Some pieces of note ...
2017 was a strange year in Los Angeles.We tried to cover the people and events that made it more livable during times of uncertainty and turmoil. In anticipation of another year when Los Angeles will need an independent media more than ever, and with the dire state of affairs in local news as we know it, the time for inspired and impassioned measures is now.
To that end, L.A. TACO plans to radically expand our coverage of what’s reallygoing on in this city, from the streets on up, from a perspective you can only get here. Stayed tuned for big announcements and new partnerships in the coming weeks and months.
In closing, here are some of our favorite images of 2017 ... [Click on slideshow!]
The K Line is Metro's newest light rail line that cruises through the heart of Black Los Angeles, from Nipsey Square to Leimert Park. The taco scene along this route is all about hustle, featuring some of the cities must under-the-radar community gems like a historic L.A. taquería with a killer red salsa, lightly crunchy "enchilada tacos," and so much more. Next stop: flavor.
A local news station scanned Google, TikTok, and other online reviews to cherry-pick a handful that calls the Boulevard "grubby, slightly scary... dirty, unsafe" and "one of the worst tourist attractions on the planet." We weighed in on the subject.
This may be the last generation of beautifully grimy punk bars and venues in a city that is overdeveloping all of these counterculture community spaces into the post-gentrification abyss. Go and support by buying drinks at all these places to make sure they stick around for the next generation.