Month: August 2024

Kids of Immigrants founder Daniel Buezo’s top L.A. Latino businesses

Kids of Immigrants founder Daniel Buezo’s top L.A. Latino businesses

Co-founder and chief executive of the Los Angeles-based clothing brand Kids of Immigrants, Daniel Buezo takes pride in his Honduran heritage. A first-generation American with roots extending from San Pedro Sula on his mom’s side and Comayagua on his dad’s, the entrepreneur was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., before moving to the Pico Union neighborhood of Los Angeles a decade ago. His company was inspired by living near the always-active street vendors of Macarthur Park, Buezo said, adding that he witnessed the same hustle culture in New York: immigrant families selling whatever they could to make a buck and give their kids a better life. The CEO has always been passionate about fashion and worked retail through high school and college. In 2013, he met Weleh Dennis, who has worked at Louis Vuitton and later became co-founder of Kids of Immigrants. “When he first mentioned the name ‘Kids of Immigrants,’ it just stuck. It was something that was true to who we were,” said Buezo, who grew up rocking brands like Nautica and Polo …

A guide to Compton: The best things to do, see and eat

A guide to Compton: The best things to do, see and eat

In Kendrick Lamar’s star-studded music video for “Not Like Us” — a diss record aimed at Canadian rapper Drake — hundreds of fans are standing around the Pulitzer Prize and Grammy winner near Compton City Hall. Get to know Los Angeles through the places that bring it to life. From restaurants to shops to outdoor spaces, here’s what to discover now. As the lively crowd turns up and dances, they rap along to the infectious chorus. “They not like us, they not like us, they not like us.” It’s a strong sentiment that goes far beyond the rap beef or hip-hop in general. Rather, it perfectly highlights the spirit of Compton and its people: Despite characterizations of violence in pop culture portrayals, the residents of Compton shake off those misconceptions and rep their city with pride. “Compton’s always been the future for me,” Lamar said during his unexpected appearance at Compton College’s commencement ceremony in June, about a month before the momentous video shoot. The Compton native has long made the city a focal point …

Who is running in 2026 to replace Newsom as California governor?

Who is running in 2026 to replace Newsom as California governor?

p]:text-cms-story-body-color-text clearfix”> (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) Top job: U.S. secretary of Health and Human ServicesBiggest splash: As California attorney general, sued the Trump administration roughly 120 times.Particulars: Becerra, 68, lives in Sacramento with his wife, Dr. Carolina Reyes, and they have three adult daughters. Born in Sacramento, he is the son of Mexican immigrants: His mother was a clerical worker and his father picked vegetables, worked in construction and had other jobs. He is a Democrat.Campaign launch: April 2025 After working for Legal Aid in Massachusetts, Becerra came back to Sacramento to work for state Sen. Art Torres. After serving in the California Assembly for a two-year term, Becerra was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, where he served until 2017 and rose to become the highest-ranking Latino at the time. While in Congress, Becerra voted against the Iraq war and against the Defense of Marriage Act, which sought to limit marriage to a union between a man and a woman. After then-state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris was elected to …

Best fish tacos and seafood tacos to try in Los Angeles

Best fish tacos and seafood tacos to try in Los Angeles

In my mind, the debates over the status of the Baja California-style fish taco in Los Angeles might come down to simple geography. Fish tacos just taste better, truer, the closer you are to the shore. This unscientific theory springs to mind when tasting the fish taco at Tigre’s Fuego, a casual storefront taquería with a counter and a few stools. Well-known to coastal locals, this spot is a beacon for taco excellence for the beach cities of the South Bay. Chef Jimmy Tapia, a Culver City native, and the restaurateurs behind Baran’s 2239 offer a short menu of tacos, burritos and ceviches; fans are especially fond of Fuego’s Peruvian-style ceviche and the weekends-only breakfast burrito. I’ve enjoyed the carne asada taco on flour, topped with frijoles de la olla. Then, despite my honor as a border native, I ventured to try the fish taco. It works. Beer-battered cod in a soft corn tortilla is adorned with the standards of pico de gallo and cabbage, crema and a “fuego sauce.” The taco achieves that laidback …

The best places to shop for used furniture in Los Angeles

The best places to shop for used furniture in Los Angeles

The Huntington Collection resale shop, which benefits Huntington Health’s Senior Care Network, straddles the line between a high-end antique store with its accompanying prices and an affordably priced thrift store. You may find a pair of comfortable Sherrill Furniture down swivel chairs in a red and gold brocade fabric on sale for $150 apiece, for example, or an antique oak 19th-century dining table with eight chairs and six leaves for $1,650. (A mahogany dining room table with three leaves and six chairs was priced at $595.) The store also stocks dressers, sofas, armchairs and accessories, including a contemporary Artemide Tolomeo floor lamp, which usually sells for more than $1,000 and was on sale for $450. A lovely Turkish wool rug from ABC Carpet & Home was priced at $799.99. This store is a fun place to shop for affordable housewares, including glasses, barware and complete china sets from brands such as Lenox, Longchamp, Spode, Haviland and Dansk. There are also printouts attached to many of the products explaining their history and pricing, which is helpful …

Best Los Angeles restaurants and bars to order a margarita

Best Los Angeles restaurants and bars to order a margarita

Conflicting lore surrounds the birth of the margarita cocktail. One tale credits its invention to Carlos “Danny” Herrera at his restaurant Rancho La Gloria, between Rosarito and Tijuana, in 1938. Another claims that the beverage was created by bartender Don Carlos Orozco in Ensenada in 1941 and named after a customer. Or was it in Juárez, at now-closed Tommy’s Place Bar, that Francisco “Pancho” Morales made the first margarita in 1942? “The origins are murky, but it’s a staple in Mexican cuisine just like tortillas,” said Grace Perez, the bar lead at Damian, the Arts District restaurant from Mexico City-based chef Enrique Olvera. A classic margarita (also the word for the flower daisy) has just three ingredients: tequila, orange liqueur and lime. It can be served over ice or blended, usually with salt rimmed around the glass. “It’s just a great cocktail that you can enjoy with anything,” said Perez. “And it’s the backbone of a lot of cocktails that you see right now.” Here in L.A., where you’ll find endless expressions of Mexican cuisine, …

Endangered Atheists Clamoring for Freedom

Endangered Atheists Clamoring for Freedom

We are stunned (and humbled) by the overwhelming number of help requests we received in 2022. The ability to find safe solutions for so many of the threatened nonbelievers who knocked on our door is a testament to the hard work of our small team of Secular Rescue caseworkers. There is no quit here, not when lives are at stake. It’s not just immigration impediments and xenophobic governments that stand in the way of safe refugee mobility; the larger-scale world issues that affect us all in various ways are also obstacles. The fierce repression of ex-Muslims and freethinkers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), our primary region of focus, continued unabated in 2022, with global problems wreaking havoc on the ability of threatened atheists to board flights or cross borders for fresh starts in other, more tolerant nations. Also hindering the ability of people to flee to safety were the lingering global pandemic, rampant inflation and food insecurity, a brutal war in Ukraine and its resultant waves of refugees fleeing for safety, and …

The NABJ welcomed Trump to insult them and spread lies about Kamala Harris

The NABJ welcomed Trump to insult them and spread lies about Kamala Harris

The National Association of Black Journalists has a long history of inviting presidential candidates to speak, ABC News’ Rachel Scott reminded those present on Wednesday to witness Donald Trump wreak havoc at its annual conference in Chicago. Former Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have attended past conventions, she said, and the organization is also in talks to host an event with Trump’s opponent Vice President Kamala Harris in September. “As journalists, we use opportunities like these both to inform our reporting, but also to help voters understand the choices that they face in a consequential and historic election year,” Scott explained. All that sounds reasonable, if this were a normal election and Trump was a normal candidate. But once Trump joined Scott and her fellow moderators Harris Faulkner of Fox News and Semafor’s Kadia Goba onstage he proved yet again, as if we needed reminding, that he is not. “I want to start by addressing the elephant in the room, sir,” Scott began after thanking Trump for being there and giving what …