Central America

Pablo Alvarado: The Man Who Organized Day Laborers

One of the fascinating Angelenos featured in L.A. Weekly's People 2013 issue. Check out our entire People 2013 issue here.Pablo Alvarado, 46, normally affable and soft-spoken, bristles when he's called the Cesar Chavez of day laborers. Despite his accomplishments as director of the National Day Labo ... More >>

Aras Baskauskas: Survivor Winner Is Now a Singer-Songwriter

Aras Baskouskas, the grandson of soap opera star McDonald Carrey, won Survivor's Panama edition, which aired in 2006. He was 24 then -- he's now 31, lives with his girlfriend, model Christy Peterson, and has a career as a singer-songwriter. But there have been a lot of adventures along the way. Ha ... More >>

Los Rakas: Rappers From Panama, Proudly Hood

Oakland hip-hop duo Los Rakas spent the early years of their lives in Panama City, Panama before settling in the Bay Area and immersing themselves in hip-hop culture. Joining forces in 2006, Raka Rich and Raka Dun coined the term "PanaBay" to describe their music, a mix of the Latin rhythms of Pan ... More >>

Fiesta del Dia de los Muertos

Mara Salvatrucha, Koreatown Gang, Is Now An International Crime Syndicate

Mara Salvatrucha, the Salvadoran American group that got its start in the heart of L.A.'s Koreatown, has been designated by federal authorities as an international criminal organization, a first for a street gang. MS-13, as it's also known, "is being targeted for its involvement in serious transnat ... More >>

32: Pupusa Revuelta at Atlacatl

Celebrating this year's Best of L.A. issue -- now out in print and online -- we're counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 32: Pupusa Revuelta at Atlacatl. All hail the pupusa, in its crisp-edged, cheese-oozing glory. Enjoying this Salvadoran staple has long been an esse ... More >>

Mara Salvatrucha's Koreatown Crime Booms Even During Truce And Federal Crackdown

See also: *Mara Salvatrucha, Koreatown Gang, Is Now An International Crime Syndicate. Even as the federal government announced this week that it would crack down on the Mara Salvatrucha gang, treating it as a "transnational criminal organization" on the level of a major drug cartel, L.A. police hav ... More >>

10 Best Pupusas in Los Angeles

Pupusa are cheap and cheerful, exceptionally hearty, stuffed and griddled disks of slaked cornmeal or rice flour that originated in El Salvador. They invariably cost less than $3 in even the most stylish restaurants, and are most likely available somewhere near you. We learned three very important ... More >>

Tonight at Guelaguetza: Free Oaxacan Bites for KCRW's Sonic Trace

KCRW's newest cultural project Sonic Trace, which documents the experiences of L.A. residents who have immigrated from places like Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, will be hosting an opening party tonight at Koreatown's Guelaguetza restaurant from 7-11 p.m.

Drink This Now: Kyoto-Style Iced Coffee at Cafe Demitasse

In terms of cool food-science-nerd equipment, Cafe Demitasse wins. The Kyoto-style iced coffee setup is a beauty to behold, all glass and metal and orbs and tubes. Cold water drips slowly through the apparatus, extracting a wholly different flavor from the coffee. It takes 14 hours to make three lit ... More >>

Five Artsy Things to Do This Week, Including a Trombone Collective

This week, artist and sunglasses designer Alex Israel debuts the talk show he shot in the Pacific Design Center, trombonists perform in a downtown art space, and fringe physicists reinvent gravity. 5. They're a collective, not a choir The trombone is purportedly the brass instrument with a range cl ... More >>

El Rincon Usuluteco: A Review of Salvadoran Cuisine's Most Harmonic Trio

When three incongruent but powerful forces come together, the end product can inspire awe. The legendary band Cream lit up the stage with the '60s jazz drumming of Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce's haunting vocals and melodic bass lines and Eric Clapton's Delta blues-inspired guitar playing. It's not just ... More >>

Cocaine Bricks Worth A Half-Million-Plus Discovered at L.A. Port

Twenty bricks of cocaine worth $585,000 was found during a routine inspection at the port of Los Angeles this week, authorities said. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers picked a container randomly and, when a drug-sniffing dog alerted, discovered the bricks, which weighed 64 pounds, accord ... More >>

Study: Popcorn Eaten 2,000 Years Earlier Than Thought

Did cavemen sit around the fire stuffing their hairy faces with popcorn? After analyzing recently unearthed ancient corncobs, researchers say people in what's now Peru were eating popcorn 2,000 years earlier than previously thought -- up to 6,700 years ago, National Geographic reports. Previously, ... More >>

Docuweeks 2011

Brick's Picks: Wild, Moaning, Screeching Jazz

Pete Licata Wins US Nat'l Barista Championship; Nik Krankl Takes 2nd

Here's an early afternoon pick-me-up. This past Sunday, Pete Licata of Honolulu Coffee Company beat out dozens of competitors to win the United States Barista Championships. The man who who won the 2011 Southwest Regional Barista Championship will go on to compete in the World Barista Championshi ... More >>

Jonathan Gold Reviews Mo-Chica

Ask Mr. Gold: What's The Big Deal With Quinoa?

Anne Fishbeinthe invisible restaurant critic​ Dear Mr. Gold: What's the big deal with quinoa? I couldn't even pronounce it right when I first saw it on the menu at Hugo's in Studio City. Then I saw it at Trader Joe's and then I saw it everywhere. It has probably been around forever, but has on ... More >>

The Beat's the Thing

Obama en Español: U.S. President Tours Latin America, Talks Chilean Miners, His Own Stellar Immigration Policy (Really?)

The Daily BeastBarack and Michelle, lookin' the part​Updated after the jump: The president makes his last stop in El Salvador. If there's one thing our POTUS can do, it's talk. Barack Obama could talk himself out of Guantanamo Bay through a thick swatch of duct tape. In perfect form, he tur ... More >>

Rock Out With Your Doc Out

UCLA Professor: Cash From L.A. ($20 Million Per Year) Makes Up Half the Economy in One Part of El Salvador

From your wallet to El Salvador​You know all those stacks you drop on yardwork, Pico Union ethnic food and the live-in nanny? Bet you were feeling pretty good about doing your part to stimulate the local economy, or whatever. But there's a good chance your fat Los Angeles dime is instead goin ... More >>

Cocaine-Soaked Rope Didn't Fool Feds at LAX, They Say: Suspects Jonathan Cottrell and Leanthony Henderson Arrested

Yay.​Ah, great smuggling attempts through history. The classic surfboard de coca. The plaster snowman. And, now, coke-on-a-rope. That's right. Start your banjos. Because the pair of suspects is from Arkansas, a place, maybe, that would inspire one to dream that one day you could smuggle coc ... More >>

Mito Aviles, West Hollywood Candidate: Overcoming Adversity, Aviles Seeks to Open Up Government to Residents

Jennie WarrenWeHo City Council candidate Mito Aviles​Update, 11:50 a.m.: Aviles, who hung a Sarah Palin mannequin in effigy from his rooftop in 2008, has received an endorsement from the gay Republican web site GayPatriot.net. More after the jump. For West Hollywood City Council candidate Mi ... More >>

Food News Roundup: Food Bans, Mozza's Pig Fest, Canned Whisky More Fun With Jamie Oliver

-- New fast food restaurants banned from South L.A. [mother nature network] -- Jamie Oliver speaks to California food nutritionists. [Los Angeles Times] -- How to make your own baking powder. [Fuss Free Cooking] -- Canned whisky! Made in Panama! [Grub Street via Daily Mail UK via Gawker] -- Moz ... More >>

LA Punk Revival Show: Tonight Redd Kross and Scream join Keith Morris (Black Flag, Circle Jerks) and Raymond Pettibon's OFF! EP Release Party

​Here's a little last-minute communication from Keith Morris (Black Flag, Circle Jerks) and his new band OFF!: TONIGHT at CLUB LINGERIE in Hollywood! Surprise guests are RED CROSS (performing the early punk hits) followed by SCREAM (original lineup)! OFF! is on first at 10pm so hurry across t ... More >>

ACLU Adds New Names In Their Lawsuit Against U.S. Government Challenging Their Policy Of Detaining Immigrants Indefinitely Without A Hearing

​The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California announced Tuesday that they're adding new plaintiffs to its lawsuit against the U.S. government, challenging the government's right to hold immigrants indefinitely while they wait for their cases to be heard in immigration hearings. T ... More >>

The Thursday Edition: A Roundup of Newspaper Food Stories

SapphireBlue22stack of newspapers​What's the country reading today food-wise? Here's a roundup of some of the food-related stories from other newspapers, many of which print their food sections mid-week. And remember, even if you don't actually buy papers these days (or not; this paper is free ... More >>

An Immigrant's Heart

To survive the ordeal of escaping Guatemala, Julia needed a big Heart. But not this big

Plate Spinning: Listings From the Past Week

Some food for thought from local, national and international news sources from this past week: -- Should I Move to France? (28 Questions to Ask Yourself) [David Lebovitz] -- Wendy's pulls disco CD from kid's meals because of "racy" Donna Summer lyrics. So now they can just go home and listen to ... More >>

Best Syphon Coffee

Hario Glasspersonal coffee syphon​ Tendered on a mirror-like tray alongside a spare cup of water and a complimentary dish of nuts and dried fruit, your Wallenford, Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee arrives in a slender glass mug, tawny and fragrant. You are encouraged not to drink it.

Earth Day Round Up, Part 2

With Earth Day just around the corner, Squid Ink is sending out another reminder about the L.A. restaurants paying homage to Mother Nature tomorrow. And what better way to celebrate than with hand-crafted organic cocktails with happy hour prices. If you're not big on boozing, there is also discount ... More >>

Number Of Illegal Immigrants Decreased By One Million Since 2007

​The number of illegal immigrants in the United States was down about 800,000 last year compared to 2008, reportedly as a result of the recession and fewer job opportunities. The decrease from 11.6 million undocumented workers in 2008 to 10.8 million in 2009 was reported by the U.S. Department ... More >>

Mexicans: Intellectually Lazy Walking Greenhouses?

In the Wurst Way: Downtown's Wurstkuche Serves Up Bohemia on a Toasted Roll

Sausage that demands beer

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Wag the Gang Dog Lancaster officials hope to chase gangs out of town by imposing steep fines and penalties for owning dangerous dogs.Too Poor to Give Up The Daily News reports that many Valley day laborers are too broke to even return to Mexico or Central America. Mine Your Own Business Duarte resid ... More >>

Coming Home

Editor's notes

L.A. Weekly Founder Jay Levin on the Vision That Started It All

The journalist's dream

The Man in the Mirrored Sunglasses: From El Salvador to D.C.'s Oliver North Hearings, the Weekly Far From Home

Dances with detached strangers

Dancing Waters

Tierra Mia Explores Coffee for the Latino Palate

A journey through the world's best beans

The Saint Plays

Finish Fetish

Crucifixions and Californians

Immigration Rites

Requiem for a movement. The real aliens are in Congress

Love, From Los Angeles

It Takes Two To Fritanga

The Killing Years

Death in El Salvador, bloody hands in Washington

Janitor Power

The new womens’ movement

Polls, Pols and Propositions

Twenty years of political coverage