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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.

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Marina Watanabe

Rows of burned cars in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire that destroyed much of Altadena in January, 2025. Photo by Maks Ksenjak for L.A. TACO.

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Books

We Don’t Need to Imagine Octavia Butler’s Post-Apocalyptic L.A. It’s Already Here.

Héctor Zaldívar is the head of a print magazine and art/music publication titled Dead Relatives. Completely written and designed by Zaldívar, every month subscribers are mailed in-depth stories on different subcultures from graffiti in Latin America to hardcore punk to lowrider culture and back.

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Héctor Zaldívar

Mary Lyons (Leech Lake Ojibwe) Great-Grandmother, Ojibwe Elder, spiritual advisor, storyteller and wisdom keeper.

History

Native Community Bands Together In San Pedro, Fighting Trump’s ‘Columbus Day’ Reinstatement

Kamren Curiel is a fourth-generation Chicana born in East L.A. and raised in South San Gabriel. She&#8217;s written for the L.A.Times, Latina, LAist, KCET, Huffington Post, and was the L.A. Editor for Remezcla.com.

Kamren Curiel

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Los Angeles

A ‘Concrete Eyesore’ Replaces Native Trees: Landowner Builds Tax-Break Garden on Protected El Sereno Hillside

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

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Abraham Marquez

Pro and Anti Trump Demonstators and Protest in Tujunga

Trump’s Immigration Policy Falls in Line with Racist U.S. History Towards Immigrants

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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.”

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Janette Villafana

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

Laura Tejeda

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Food

The 34 Best ‘Hood Burgers In Los Angeles

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.

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Hadley Tomicki

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Music

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

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Memo Torres is the Director of Engagement and multimedia journalist for the James Beard award-winning L.A. Taco. He is also the host of the Daily Memo and writes for Apple Maps’ ‘Where Memo Torres Eats in L.A.’ You can see him on Netflix&#8217;s Taco Chronicles and Pressure Cooker.  You can hear him on KCRW’s ‘Good Food’ occasionally. He was a finalist for the Ruben Salazar Award for Latino journalists and a former third-generation landscaper.

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Memo Torres

Izzy was born and raised in Anaheim, Orange County. He is an aspiring investigative journalist.

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Izzy Ramirez

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Featured

Daily Memo: Over 20 Kidnapped by ICE and CBP, Including Another U.S. Citizen, Amid Escalating Southern California Raids

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Aisha Wallace-Palomares

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News

Border Patrol Detains Three at La Puente Chilaquiles Stand Before Seizing Its Cash Box

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Daily Memo: Feds Detain U.S. Citizens and Take Street Vendor’s Cash Box

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.

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Lexis-Olivier Ray

A woman chokes on tear gas fumes in Downtown L.A., June 14, 2025

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L.A. City Council Rejects Proposal To Limit LAPD’s Use of Tear Gas and ’40mm Foam Launchers’

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Update: Border Patrol Agents Raid Huntington Park Home Depot, As Fleeing Man Is Struck By Vehicle

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Daily Memo: Border Patrol Is Back, Targeting Southeast Los Angeles and Ripping Parents From Their Children

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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