After scandal, L.A. band Las Cafeteras sings ode to Oaxaca

A woman wearing white speaks into a microphone

She called them “dark little people,” adding “tan feos” (“they’re ugly”) and claimed she didn’t know where they came from. Former L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez’s recently leaked racist remarks about Oaxacans living in […]

Column: I’m playing an Art Laboe album to counteract the noxious vibe from L.A. City Hall

Memories of El Monte

In 1993, my parents saved up enough money to buy a massive Kenwood home entertainment system complete with gigantic speakers and a five-CD player. I remember the exact year because the first CD I ever […]

Foo Fighters Announce More Artists for Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert in L.A.

Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert

In June, Foo Fighters announced that they’d be performing tribute shows in London and Los Angeles to honor Taylor Hawkins. After sharing the first wave of artists performing at the September 27 show at Inglewood’s […]

With Kendrick Lamar, Blxst has become the sound of L.A. hip-hop

A man performing onstage.

On a suffocating afternoon in early September, the cavernous Hollywood Palladium was unnaturally empty. Inside, the South-Central hip-hop artist Blxst (pronounced “Blast”) ran through a soundcheck before his second sold-out show at the 4,000 capacity […]

With a new bronze bust, L.A. honors Peruvian singer Yma Sumac

Martín Espinoza Grajeda works on a bronze bust.

She is no longer physically with us, but Yma Sumac will again be present in Southern California through the unveiling of a bust, a film projection and a concert. The most enduring of these tributes […]