How better to explore the real Los Angeles than through the tales of Angelinos ?

There are as many visions of Los Angeles as there are of Angelinos... And since I began the adventure of interviewing them, believe me when I tell you: their journeys are worth sharing.

When I first started to work on this project, I wanted to find a way to understand Los Angeles. As a newcomer, I myself was struggling to do so. Moving from Paris to Los Angeles, I was trying to navigate here, to learn the ways and find the shortcuts. I wondered how to understand a city where borders are so hard to define geographically and metaphorically. And while you might think that this question applies to every major metropolis worldwide. Having lived in six, two of them capitals of their countries, I would argue that Los Angeles is different.

Why? Because the city of angels is the mecca of pop culture. Not only is it the biggest entertainment factory in the world, or at least the most successful, but it is also a major filming location. This can lead many cinema fans worldwide to be tricked into thinking that they already know this city, from what they saw on screen...

The narrative surrounding L.A. perpetuated by the industry for decades made it the capital of the American dream, which is true for some people. But at the end of the day, many realities cohabit here, good or bad, that are known only to the people who actually experience this city on a daily basis.

It took me a long time to realize that turning to Angelinos was the only way I could even begin to draw the contours of Los Angeles. As a journalist for about ten years, and an aspiring one before that, I’ve been conducting interviews for two decades, from my middle school director to class B celebrities on the French Riviera, journalists in Turkey, or political researchers in Brazil. And of course, all the impressive women, artists, senators, or scientists featured in Women on Edge, the radio show I created in Australia.

As years went by, the one thing that never changed for me was how fascinated I was by people’s stories. Everyone’s journey reveals so much more than we think about who we are, but also about the place where we stand. Meeting incredible people and listening to what they share about Los Angeles makes me understand this city better every day.

We all dream of the city of Angels. It is both the decor and the star of many movies, music videos, and social media. Yet, beyond the magic, this city is a very real buzzing metropolis where millions of individuals go through their everyday lives. Their stories are fascinating and hold the truth of the reality in Los Angeles.

Every city has millions of faces, all different depending on who is looking at them… Or depending on who is listening? L.A. Portraits brings these visions straight to your ears with a conversation with an Angelino, one episode at a time, from artists to entrepreneurs, activists, or just regular people with beautiful stories.

Join me on a journey through the vibrant streets of Los Angeles as we uncover the captivating stories of the people that make this city what it is and gain a deeper understanding of the diverse perspectives and experiences that shape Los Angeles. Tune in and be inspired, entertained, and moved by the L.A Portraits.

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