“Venice reminds me of a beautiful island,” says Antonio Gonzalez, leaning against the bonnet as Mexican ranchera booms out of his truck’s radio. “Plus we’re close to the sea and we liked the song, so we called it La Isla Bonita.”
Antonio, along with his wife, Maria, opened his Mexican food truck business in 1987, the same year Madonna released her single and shot the video here in Los Angeles. On this balmy afternoon, he has parked, as he does every day, on residential Rose Avenue, near Venice Beach.
Antonio’s truck is in good company in the City of Angels. There are around 4,000 food trucks here, selling all sorts of meals on wheels — tacos, kebabs, dumplings, fried chicken, to name a few. But Mexican influences dominate the city’s…
