Tag: LA Taco

The Scene Is Dead! Long Live The Scene!

The scene in question in the headline is actually more than one scene. In this case, I’m referring to the punk, ska and hardcore scenes in L.A. and the IE; specifically, in Pomona, San Bernardino and Riverside.

Pomona’s and San Bernardino’s hardcore scenes are getting reinvigorated lately with a push from Mosh For Youth, which I wrote about here: https://lataco.com/chicano-hardcore-documentary

The city of Riverside once had an amazing music scene that provided local youth with free access to ska, punk and hardcore music, as well as spaces for young artists to practice their stagecraft. A new exhibit at the Riverside Art Museum features tons of memorabilia from that time, which you can read here: https://lataco.com/punk-hardcore-ska-riverside

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LA Comic Con 2023: Conversations With Indie Creators

My latest story is a fun one for LA Taco. I spent two of the three scheduled days at LA Comic Con! I spoke with over a half-dozen creators (writers, artists and publishers) about their craft and received some insights into the behind-the-scenes world of the comics industry.

An excerpt:

When did you start working on your own comics?

“Far too late! I wish I had gotten to it earlier, but just in the past year, I started writing my own comics. I started with ‘Werewolf Frankenstein,’ which is my ode to Universal monsters and matching them up in interesting ways. So, you take Frankenstein, and he gets into a fight with the Wolfman. Why can’t he now also have werewolf-ism, piece by piece, because he’s made up of all these different body parts? It’s slowly going from body part to body part, and eventually, it’ll get to his brain, and he’ll become a full werewolf, which he doesn’t want. So he’s running around going to different doctors and forcing them to operate on him and figure out ways to beat the werewolf-ism.”

Chris Robinson, creator of Werewolf Frankenstein.

Read it in full at: https://lataco.com/la-comic-con-2023-recap

LA Taco’s LAFC Hat-Trick

The Leagues Cup has finally come and gone after what felt like an eternity. I have plenty of thoughts about the Super League style tournament (and they’re not positive ones either) but I’ll save that for another day. For now, my hat-trick of articles (sponsored content, actually!) of coverage of three of LAFC’s four Leagues Cup games will suffice.

First story: It’s a Must-Win for LAFC, Facing Mexico’s FC Juárez On Wednesday to Advance Their ‘Leagues Cup’ Dreams

Second story: LAFC Face Real Salt Lake After Demolishing FC Juárez, Advance One Step Closer to New Trophy

Third and final story: It’s Los Angeles vs. Monterrey as LAFC Get Ready For Their Toughest ‘Leagues Cup’ Match Yet

‘The System Failed Him:’ For The Last Remaining Sibling Of The Zaragoza Family, Measure R Is A Matter Of Life And Death

Annette Zaragoza-Bilow didn’t have a role in crafting Measure R, but her support for the measure is deeply personal. If it passes, the measure will not only give the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission stronger oversight power, but will also restructure the infrastructure in how Los Angeles county incarcerates people and, more importantly, treats people with mental health issues. 

She hopes that the ordinance will help people like her brother, Gerry Dean Zaragoza, before it’s too late.

“My brother tried to get help for many years before the incident,” she recalls in an interview with LA Taco.

Read more at LA Taco: https://www.lataco.com/zaragoza-measure-r/

TROPICÁLIA 2019

León Larregui of Zoé.

How do you explain the Latin American experience in Los Angeles? That’s a complex question, but we are sure it would look, sound, and feel a little something like this year’s Tropicália festival.

Over two days, the Fairplex in Pomona hosted Goldenvoice’s newest musical endeavor, which brought to life a mixtape that encapsulated the past, present, and future of Latin American music and brought multiple generations of Latinos and others together for a truly inclusive weekend of fun.

There were plenty of moments that encapsulated that feeling. There was the young lady who called her parents on FaceTime so that they could watch Peruvian romance balladeers Los Pasteles Verdestogether. There were the two comadres who made their way to the front of the stage for Los Tigres Del Norte and held each other as they sang, screamed, and cried to every song alongside girls young enough to be their granddaughters. There were the young goths who patiently waited for Prayers’ set by singing along with Paquita La Del Barrio who performed before their favorite duo did on the same stage. There were the Asian and African-American kids moshing together with the Latinos in more pits than I could count. There were the young gabachas who swooned at Kali Uchis’ every movement.

Read the rest at: https://www.lataco.com/tropicalia-2019/