core/paragraph

core/more

LA_TACO_LOGO_SC_WHITE_Black_240

L.A. TACO STAFF

<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>


Untitled design (3) copy

Janette Villafana

<p>Laura is a desmadrosa, a product of East Los, an educator, and a hood establishment connoisseur.</p>


Laura Tejeda

superburger

Food

The 34 Best ‘Hood Burgers In Los Angeles

<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>


Hadshot2022

Hadley Tomicki

Weird Al's Straight Outta Lynwood album cover

WeirdAlLynwood

Music

Six Musical Legends You Forgot Are From South L.A.

<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>


Screenshot 2024-03-11 at 12.47.52 PM

Marina Watanabe

The Japanese American National Museum (JANM)

The Japanese American National Museum (JANM). Photo by Marina Watanabe for L.A. TACO.

Culture

Little Tokyo’s Japanese American National Museum Stood Up For DEI, Then Lost Funding

<p>Isabel Ravenna, author of &#8220;Your Dreams are Dreaming You Back,&#8221; is an LA-native Nicaragüense and multi-media journalist specializing in investigative features, cultural storytelling, and women&#8217;s history. Known for her high-profile interviews, Isabel explores diverse topics with depth and authenticity.</p>


headshot 2

Isabel Ravenna

Young_Luis_Rodriguez

Los Angeles

How L.A.’s Cholo and Chicano Culture Conquered the World

frank-loyd-house

Featured

Ten Architecture Gems to Visit in L.A.: If These Walls Could Talk

<p>Stephanie Mendez is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and producer based in the LBC. Her work has appeared on ABC News, TODAY, E! News, SPIN, and more.</p>
<div class="yj6qo"></div>


IAM_9299 copy (2)

Stephanie Mendez

GARY TOVAR FACEBOOK

This Godfather of California’s Punk Scene Founded Goldenvoice Before Going to Prison For Smuggling Weed

logo_fixed_outline

image (9)

lede_post_card_default

lede_post_card_stacked

lede_post_card_featured_post

lede_post_card_featured_posts_hero

lede_post_card_featured_posts_sidebar

lede_post_card_highlighted_post

lede_post_card_horizontal_a

lede_post_card_horizontal_c

lede_post_card_related_post

lede_post_card_square

lede_article_featured_16x9

lede_article_featured_3x2

lede_article_featured_1x1

lede_article_featured_flexible

lede_article_content

lede_article_content_wide_width

lede_article_content_full_width

lede_byline_avatar_post_card

lede_byline_avatar_highlight

lede_profile_coral_avatar

lede_logo

lede_logo_banner

lede_logo_footer_banner

lede_logo_simple_header

lede_sponsorship_logo

lede_sponsorship_logo_river_card

lede_sponsorship_homepage_card_logo

lede_sponsorship_homepage_card

Explore

Footer - NEW

Legal Footer

Main - NEW

Mobile

Celebrating the Taco Lifestyle in Los Angeles, CA

la-taco-horizontal-1

L.A. TACO

Support L.A. TACO

support_snipe002 (1)

<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>


GmU3Yd9R_400x400

Lexis-Olivier Ray

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

LAPD Armored Vehicle June 14, 2025

News

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

A line of Nationa Guardsmen stand in at the top of a short staircase holding riot shields.

National Guard Federal Building June 10, 2025

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

LATaco_promo_ElKeamo

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

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

lapdhorse

Protests

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

A food event flyer showing a burned out car that says FUCK ICE and red letters that say FOOD FIGHT Culinary Resistance Against Prejudice

FoodFight_acb897

Taco Members Only

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>


taco

Abraham Marquez

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

morello

Live Music

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

Members get unlimited access to all of our stories, along with incredible perks like free tacos, invites to our awesome events, access to our mobile app, and much more!

Become a Member of L.A. TACO

post

clusc_8_1_00328251a_j

History

<div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-family: georgia, serif">Kaley Block is a young Asian American writer and public relations specialist from New York living in Los Angeles for school. She loves writing, has always been described as talkative, and is excited to work in a field that puts her natural propensity for communication to work.</span></div>
<div class="yj6qo ajU"></div>


Kaley Block

A picture of the destruction in a classroom after the earthquake. Photo courtesy of Raymond Garcia.

A-picture-of-the-destruction-in-a-classroom-after-the-earthquake.-Photo-by-Raymond-Garcia

Thirty Years Later, Northridge Earthquake Survivors Remember