Quick Facts
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Biography
Gustavo Arellano is an American writer. He is a featured writer for the Los Angeles Times and the former publisher and editor of Orange County's alternative weekly OC Weekly, and the author of the column ¡Ask a Mexican!, which is syndicated nationally. Arellano has won numerous awards for the column, including the 2006 and 2008 Best Non-Political Column in a large-circulation weekly from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, the 2007 Presidents Award from the Los Angeles Press Club and an Impacto Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition, and a 2008 Latino Spirit award from the California Latino Legislative Caucus.
The columns were collected in book form in 2008 as ¡Ask a Mexican! (Scribners, ISBN 978-1416540038). Arellano has published two further books: Orange County: A Personal History (Scribners, 2008, ISBN 978-1416540045), and Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America (Scribners, 2012, ISBN 978-1439148617)
Arellano was at the OC Weekly for 15 years before resigning in 2017.
In 2018, Arellano was featured in the "Tacos" episode of the hit Netflix show Ugly Delicious.
In January 2019, Arellano officially became a features writer for the Los Angeles Times, covering mostly Southern California.
Personal life
He is a third cousin once removed of actress Jessica Alba.
