USC Hospitality is celebrating Latine Heritage month by serving tacos, mulitas and aguas frescas at the semester’s first Taste of LA pop-up from Oct. 6-8. The event is set up on the second floor of Ronald Tutor Campus Center (RTCC) and will serve lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day.
Street Tacos and Grill, founded by brothers Arturo and Leo Aguilar, was recruited to cater the event. Based out of Boyle Heights for over eight years, the restaurant offers catering services, as well as operating from their traditional brick-and-mortar location.
“We cook everything at our restaurant on site, and then we’ll come in and bring it here,” said Arturo Aguilar, whose Mexican cuisine is inspired by the food he and his brother grew up eating.
The menu was highlighted by mulita and taco plates ranging from $14.99 to $16.99, as well as free Tres Leches cake, available only on Monday. Meal swipes are not accepted at the event, and students are advised to order online using dining dollars or personal funds.
Leon Salazar, a freshman studying environmental science and health, was among the first customers to try the food on Monday morning. Being of Latin heritage, he enjoyed seeing his culture’s cuisine being celebrated.
“It’s cool to see,” Salazar said. “I feel like there could be a little more done, but it’s been good.”
Street Tacos and Grill is a part of Trojan Shop Local’s catalog of local businesses that services various campus events.
“We have over 100 businesses in the program. When somebody comes and says, ‘we need something for this,’ we can just pick and choose,” said Gary Brown, head of Trojan Shop Local.
Taste of LA was the first event in which USC Hospitality employed Street Tacos and Grill, but according to [who said this], they’re already slated to return next week for the Noche de Cultura celebration on Oct. 15 in Founders Park.
USC Hospitality development leader Tony Hayward expressed hopes of continuing to work with Trojan Shop Local to put on more Taste of LA experiences. Though this marks the first event the two organizations have collaborated on this academic year, they hope to take part in even more cultural celebrations at both the University Park and Health Sciences Campuses in the future.
“We’re looking to do at least one a month,” said Brown. “It’s the first time they’ve opened this space since before COVID.”
The pop-up is the latest in a series of events that USC has sponsored in celebration of Latine Heritage Month, which will come to an end on Oct. 15. The university previously offered a walking tour of historic Latine monuments in Los Angeles and a performance by Thornton School of Music students in the Afro-Latin American Jazz Ensemble, among other cultural events.