A night full of music, food, and entertainment

L.A. Taco hosted their Taco Madness event in downtown L.A. on Saturday, May 6.

On Saturday, May 6, media outlet L.A. Taco hosted their Taco Madness event at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown. L.A. Taco vendors had the opportunity to show off their cooking skills and celebrate their accomplishments, and event-goers had the opportunity to eat their hearts out.

The 14th annual Taco Madness festival was full of food, music, and entertainment. Live music as well as traditional dancers shared the stage. It was a ticketed event for everyone; each blue ticket was worth five dollars for one taco, and the red ticket was for drinks.

Tacos were served with different types of meats that were brought from Mexico, and some tortillas were handmade. The stands were wide, so people in line were able to see how these tacos were made.

Recording artist Danny Lux, who recently performed at Coachella, headlined Taco Madness to close out the show for the night. Many of his followers were present, and the atmosphere was full of energy.

The plaza had spray paint artists showing off their talent by creating their images on large canvases. People who were in line to get food were fascinated by their artwork. The festival also had gift shops with stands full of antiques and other items.

“It’s my first time, there's a lot of people so it's pretty good and a lot of positivity as well,” said Olga Samayoa. Her stand was filled with crystal rocks, jewelry, and sages. She was grateful to be there and to have the opportunity to share her antiques with everyone.

“I sell mental health awareness gear inspired by my Latino culture because it is pretty much known that we don’t really talk about mental health in our community,” vendor Rosa Valdez said. Her shop, Educated Chola, sells a variety of tote bags, jewelry, mugs and stickers. “I’m trying to create awareness but also have a little fun while we’re at it.”

Hadley Tomicki, one of L.A. Taco’s founders, explained how the venue for Taco Madness might have overlapped with the amount of guests that were present. It became crowded as the day went by and the line to get inside was long.

“We anticipated to have a big turnout until we saw the big line around the corner. We weren't necessarily sure what that was going to turn out to be,” Tomicki said.

Taco Madness pulled a higher number of individuals than what was supposed to, and received a positive reception. Due to the high volume of people at the festival this year, Tomicki said they will consider relocating elsewhere if they feel that next year will get crowded.

“We might look at whether the venue was appropriate for the size of the crowd,” Tomecki said. “So far I think we are really happy with the way things have gone ... hopefully, we do have the same turnout and keep growing.”