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<p>Jared Cowan writes and podcasts about L.A. filming locations. He also works as a photographer and camera operator.</p>


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Jared Cowan

Screenshot via New Line Cinema

Revisiting ‘Mi Familia’ and the Main Filming Location In Boyle Heights 30 Years Later

<p>Sara Alvarez is a bilingual multimedia journalist and undergraduate studying Public Relations and Advertising at USC Annenberg. She is currently a Social Media Intern for L.A. TACO, and the Social Media Manager for Annenberg Media’s Latine news desk, Dímelo. Born and raised in the Bay Area, her coverage focuses on community reporting, news, and popular culture.</p>


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Sara Alvarez

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<div id="message-content-1250858460501901333" class="markup_a7e664 messageContent_abea64">Valeria Macias is a student reporter at USC, where she double majors in Journalism and NGOs and social change. Through her work in publications like the LA Times, USC Annenberg Media, Boyle Heights Beat, ABC7, and many others, Macias has amplified the voices within her local communities. Most of her reporting focuses on the local Angelino community and shines a light on issues of gentrification, street vending, city government, and more.</div>
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Valeria Macias

homeboys the musical

Culture

Barrio to Broadway: How ‘Homeboys, the Musical’ Turns Trauma Into Acapelas

Screenshot of Friday via New Line Cinema.

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Film

Revisiting the Iconic Film Locations from ‘Friday,’ 30 Years Later

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<p>Jesse Katz is the author of <i>The Rent Collectors: Exploitation, Murder, and Redemption in Immigrant LA</i>, which is a finalist for an <i>L.A. Times</i> book prize and a PEN America literary award. He spent 24 years on staff at the <i>Los Angeles Times</i> and <i>Los Angeles</i> magazine.</p>
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Jesse Katz – color author portrait

Jesse Katz

Miguel Angel Garcia next to the candle vigil in the alley. Screenshot via Die Like a Man.

Die Like a Man – Miguel Angel Garcia next to the candle vigil in the alley

What ‘Die Like a Man’ Gets Right that Other L.A. Hood Movies Don’t

In a scene from Police Academy 2, Bobcat Goldthwait, left of center, as the Scullians’ leader, Zed, standing around other actors portraying his gang. Screenshot via Warner Bros.

How the Old L.A. Zoo Was Turned Into Police Academy 2’s Punk Hideout, 40 Years Ago

<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>


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Hadley Tomicki

A blue Dodgers hat with pink flowers with smiley faces by Takashi Murakami.

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Sports

Tokyo Art Legend Takashi Murakami Is Making Dodgers Gear Now

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<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Gabriel Buelna holds a PhD 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 also a practicing Family and Criminal Law attorney in California. Dr. Buelna is also a Trustee for the Los Angeles Community College District and can be reached at </span><a href="mailto:gabriel@buelnalaw.com"><span style="font-weight: 400">gabriel@buelnalaw.com</span></a>.<span style="font-weight: 400"> </span></p>


Gabriel Buelna

<p style="text-align: left"><span style="font-weight: 400">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.  </span></p>


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Enrique M. Buelna

Senator Padilla

Los Angeles

Opinion: Senator Padilla’s Arrest is Proof Trump Wants to Silence Truth At All Costs

Protestors in front of 9200 Sunset Blvd, holding up signs

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Featured

13 Arrested As Protest Against Palantir Occupies Sunset Boulevard Lobby of Thiel Capital

<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>


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Janette Villafana

A skilled taquero in a red shirt carving a trompo of al pastor at Angel's Tijuana Tacos.

Angels

These L.A. Taquerías Are Temporarily Closing Doors As ICE Raids Continue

<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>


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Marina Watanabe

CV Dazzle makeup look by Instagram user @martymoment. Photo by @martymoment.

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Taco Members Only

Can Anti-Surveillance Makeup Protect Protesters from Facial Recognition Software?

<p>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).</p>


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Javier Cabral

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BREAKING: ICE Confirmed Abductions at Taco Truck in East L.A.

Javier Cabral out on the field.

Site News

A Letter From the Editor About Our Recent Street-Level Coverage of Protests Against ICE In Los Angeles

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<p>Colin Browne is a critic and journalist whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, and Hollywood Mirror.</p>


Colin Browne

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<p>Mike Sonksen aka Mike the PoeT is a 3rd-generation Los Angeles native. Poet, professor, journalist, historian and tour-guide, his latest book &#8220;Letters to My City&#8221; was just published by Writ Large Press. He teaches at Woodbury University.</p>


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