Colombia

The Big Wedding is Vile, Racist, and Embarrassing

Terror in Boston Tightens Security for CicLAvia

Both this weekend's bike ride and other outdoor L.A. events could see new precautions in light of deadly attacks at marathon

Cafe Demitasse and Trystero Coffee Launch Demitasse Roasting

With coffee shops opening up in Los Angeles faster than the newest gastropub can fry its Brussels sprouts, it was only a matter of time before a few local coffee professionals decided to go beyond the brew and see about roasting their own coffee. Such is the case with Cafe Demitasse's Bobak Roshan, ... More >>

Sex And Love is Goal of Prostitution Johns, Says Study

The old stereotype of "Captain Save-A-Ho," the sad sack who wants to fall in love with the women he pays for sex and attention, might actually have some truth to it. A new study by L.A. sex expert Christine Milrod and George Washington University sociology Professor Ronald Weitzer found that one ou ... More >>

Arguing About Rick Ross With A Man Who Might Want To Burn My House Down

See also: Cassette Tapes Are Awesome Until You Actually Have To Listen To Them The guy who sells CDs and DVDs in the corner store parking lot near my house? That guy is the tits. I mean, our relationship can only ever be that one way. I don't want to know him in any other context than The Guy Who ... More >>

Chicano Batman, Caped Crusader

[Editor's note: Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. Be sure to also check out the archives.] With the July 20 release of The Dark Knight Rises, the iconic Batman franchise returns for its seventh summer with the usual panoply of "pows," "bangs" and Chri ... More >>

EDC 2012: House Music Beef With DJ Sneak Plays Out in Steve Angello's DJ Set

In early spring, a Twitter beef erupted between DJ Sneak, a Chicago house music legend, and Steve Angello, one-third of the DJ supergroup Swedish House Mafia. Sneak called SHM's music "fake shit" and said they "do not play house music" -- as in, real house music. On Friday, in front of a huge crow ... More >>

Top Books We Read in 2011, by L.A. Weekly Writers

Yes, bookstores are closing all around us, from the giant Borders to the tiny Village Books. But Angelenos still read, and to prove it, we asked LA Weekly's staff writers, editors and freelance contributors to tell us their favorite book they read this year, and why. Answers after the jump. What's ... More >>

FAQs: CicLAvia For Beginners on October 9 in Los Angeles

The third CicLAvia public bike tour to hit L.A. happens Oct. 9 and will take over 10 miles of closed streets from East Hollywood to the Eastside. Organizers are inviting folks to stop and smell the architecture and culture along the way too, with focal points including "historic downtown," Boyle He ... More >>

LA's Top 10 Ice Cream & Gelato Spots

Guzzle & Nosh​[Catch up on the full 30 Scoops in 30 Days trek in our sweet, creamy archive.] Americans remember President Ronald Reagan as any number of things: The Great Communicator, a proponent of trickle-down economics, a hack former actor with a penchant for chimpanzees. Few, however, kn ... More >>

Duff Beer from The Simpsons is Real

Duff beer is real! Homer Simpson's favorite libation is actually available for purchase, but only in South America -- and nobody will talk about it. According to the Miami Herald: The makers of Duff in South America say they aren't allowed to talk to the U.S. media. Duff Mexico... would not resp ... More >>

Incumbent Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees Desperate, Reform Candidate Slate Emerges

One republican's reaction to the mailers shown below after the jump.​As a reform slate of candidates emerges in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) Board of Trustees race, incumbents are pulling their hair out amid an L.A. Times expose uncovering fraud and misuse of horrifyingl ... More >>

The Bikeroots

City Council candidate Stephen Box and L.A. bicyclists roll into the halls of power

Music to Pick Up/Download

CicLAvia: Closing Down 7.5 Miles Of Streets For Bicyclists A Good Thing For Los Angeles?

lasubwayblog via FlickrCyclists took advantage of the wide-open streets at L.A.'s first CicLAvia ride.​We had CicLAvia, Sunday's street-closing bike event, pegged as a possible, traffic-choking nightmare. But reviews of Los Angeles' first city sponsored mega-ride along 7.5 miles of wide open s ... More >>

The Latest Buzz: The Birth of Coffee at the Craft and Folk Art Museum

Photo: Daniel Lorenzetti from The Birth of Coffee. All rights reserved.Woman from San Juan Atitlan​With support from Gaviña Gourmet Coffee and the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles, The Birth of Coffee exhibit at the Craft and Folk Art Museum takes us from the coffee industr ... More >>

Meet Your Winemaker: Lynmar's Bibiana González Rave on Gut Feelings, Crushed Grapes and The 100 Degree Heat

Lynmar EstateBibiana González Rave​If you've been lucky enough to try a bottle of Lynmar Pinot Noir (or Chardonnay and Rosé), or hang out on their tasting room patio -- where $10 gets you a Robb Report-worthy luxury retreat and tastings, perhaps the best deal in the Russian River Valley -- y ... More >>

Washington Times Brings Gangs, Graffiti And Illegal Immigrants To Bell Salary Story

Ted SoquiI see brown people ... at a Bell City Council meeting.​The Bell salary scandal, in which a city manager was found to be taking home as much as $1.5 million in compensation, has inspired headlines from coast to coast. But none of the coverage has been as dark as that of the Washington ... More >>

This Weekend: Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Rage Against the Machine, Robyn, Jackson Browne, Lyle Lovett, Keith Urban, Delta Spirit

via MySpaceMiguel Atwood-Ferguson​Tonight's installment of Grand Performances at California Plaza -- one of our town's finest, free music al fresco opportunities -- figures to be especially grand. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, the composer/producer/arranger/multi-instrumentalist who boasts a resume ... More >>

Out at the Movies

From bisexual bromance to lesbian Marines to Le Tigre: 15 picks for Outfest

Did Shakira Plagiarize Her Soccer World Cup Theme?

How many "Soccer World Cup Themes" are there anyway? We already reported on the official (R. Kelly) and the self-appointed (Weezer), but now comes an interesting allegation about yet another soccer World Cup Theme. Colombia's crossover diva Shakira recently released her "Waka Waka," a collaboration ... More >>

America's Cocaine King Hid From Drug Cartels for 25 Years

It took a screenwriter to find him

Echo Park's accordion alchemists Very Be Careful Now in 3-D!!!!

Echo Park's accordion alchemists Very Be Careful Now in 3-D!!!!

Bomba Estereo Explosion! L.A. Debut at the Echo, Amoeba, and KCRW

Bomba Estereo Explosion! L.A. Debut at the Echo, Amoeba, and KCRW

Brick's Picks: Goodbye Pasadena Jazz Institute, Hello JI Lounge

Cops Without Borders: L.A. Ports to Get Foreign Help

It sounds like a classic Good News/Bad News situation. The Associated Press reports that for the first time U.S. customs agents will be working on-site at L.A.'s two ports with a member of Mexican law enforcement. The arrangement, which also extends to seaports in Miami and the New York-New Jersey a ... More >>

Rock Picks: Leonard Cohen, Wavves, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Britney Spears

Also, The Henry Clay People, Vetiver, Mad Professor and others

Top 10 Latin Music Albums of 2008

By Julienne Gage Americans who still think of Latin music as mariachi bands and gyrating Ricky Martins and Shakiras might want to lend a closer ear to the genre. This country's Hispanic population isn't just growing, it's growing more diverse. More and more unique musical styles are being gobbled ... More >>

Short Cuts

Echo Park Cuban Music Festival

Salsa, cigars, and chicharrones

Yuca Mountain

La Maria’s picada, extreme eating Colombian style

Spank Rock, Wolfrock and Honest Hips

Theater Reviews

For the week of March 31 - April 6

Drug Warriors and Mountain Men

JC Superstar

Royal Coke

How the U.S. and France let the smuggling prince get away to help the war on terror

The Back Story

I don't care what the facts are

Saddam’s Last Days

Speed Freaks

On the road with Dave Eggers

The Labyrinth of Fútbol

For Mexicans, losing to the U.S. is more than a defeat

The Hired Hand

The Hired Hand

Alejandro Iñárritu revs up the boss’s BMW

What They Want

Small Minds and Arms

The gun lobby goes to war with the U.N.

Raves on the Run

Feds jack up sentences, enforcement against Ecstasy

Demonios en la calle Broadway

Milagros, exorcismos, anticatolicismo: cómo irse a la ruina en la Iglesia Universal del Reino de Dios por Joseph Treviño

Meaning of Life in Quebec

The odd look of democracy

My Life as an Underdog

The Green-Republican front against DiF

Rain Forest Crunch