Joseph Treviño

Fleeing a troubled home life, Ana Diaz left her Mexican city of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, and headed to Tijuana. There, during a hot summer night, she and her four children — including her 8-month-old Ana — crossed miles of rugged terrain before they managed to sneak by the Border Patrol and......

Photo by Slobodan Dimitrov THE DEMONS JUST won't let go. Dozens of people, tormented by the forces of evil, fill the aisles. Church officials clutch the hair of the possessed, their shoulders, their flailing arms, doing whatever it takes to break the spell. Some of the faithful crouch on the......

Photo by Slobodan Dimitrov FOR MOST OF HER LIFE, IVETTE VILLASEÑOR has been searching for a god. She looked in vain for one in the traditional Catholic Church of her parents, in Pentecostal congregations, and among curanderos, Latino healers who practice indigenous faiths. She thought she had finally found one......

CLOAKED IN THE DARKNESS OF NIGHT, MÁRIO Justino hunched behind a garbage can, a gun between his hands. His heart pounded as he waited for Bishop Macedo to come out of a Brooklyn building, an old movie house turned into one more temple of the Universal Church. Justino had been......

Photos by Slobodan Dimitrov It’s a classic L.A. debate: Buses or light rail? It used to be that the working-class Eastside could be counted on to come down solidly on the side of buses, but it’s not so simple anymore. More are backing the proposed $759 million Eastside Light Rail......

Photos by Slobodan Dimitrov Some flash signs, others sell drugs, and many inspire fear. Here, in a 10-block area along Alvarado Street in Westlake, some 18th Street gang members are reclaiming their turf amid the fortunetellers and swap-meet-style shops that used to be movie theaters. Once targeted by a court......

Photos by Debra DiPaolo (top) and Ted Soqui They are charismatic, bright and ambitious. Gloria Romero and Martin Gallegos are two of the rising stars in Latino politics, each one supported by powerful endorsements and big-money contributors. Next Tuesday, there will be room for only one of them in the......

Photo by Slobodan Dimitrov Evans Community Adult School has been called Los Angeles’ Ellis Island, where immigrants from all over the world learn English and become part of mainstream California. During the bus strike, the school saw its attendance drop nearly one third; this semester, 15,000 students are enrolled. Now......

Photo by Virginia Lee Hunter As a janitor and union member, Dolores Martinez marched her way to a pay raise. Along with thousands of members of L.A.’s cleaning crews, she helped earn a historic triumph for organized labor in April. During a three-week strike, janitors like Martinez forced 18 contract......

Photo by Virginia Lee Hunter On the outskirts of the sprawling bus depot in Cypress Park, dozens of drivers have walked the picket line for more than two weeks. Sometimes, commuters honk back in support. The drivers, some with children and spouses, cheer back. But not all commuters are so......