The Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona surprised with an emotional gift to "Pocho," the Mexican taxi driver who inspired his famous song Historia de taxi and who, over the years, became one of his closest collaborators.
The artist returned to the place where they first met over three decades ago, in Mexico City, to gift her a yellow Volkswagen Beetle adorned with a huge red bow, in a moment that was captured in a video shared by the show El Gordo y La Flaca on Instagram.
"Returning to Mexico is a celebration for us. For us, you are a celebration," Arjona told his friend before revealing the surprise.
During the meeting, the interpreter recalled how his friendship with Pocho began, which started when he was driving a taxi through the streets of Mexico City. That chance encounter ultimately developed into a relationship that transcended the professional.
Over time, Pocho stopped working as a taxi driver and joined the singer's team as a set designer, accompanying him on 12 international tours.
Upon reminiscing about the years they had worked together, Arjona initially calculated that they had done eight tours, but Pocho corrected him: "Twelve tours." Surprised by the number, the artist acknowledged that they had practically shared an entire lifetime.
After reminiscing about some anecdotes, Arjona asked him to look toward a corner, where the yellow car was waiting.
"We decided to pay tribute to you, and this is for you," he announced. In response to Pocho's disbelief, the singer insisted, "This is not an act. This is yours; I give it to you."
Visibly moved, Pocho thanked the Guatemalan for so many years of friendship and collaboration, and he recalled another act of generosity that he had shown him.
"I am very grateful to you, sir, for the many years you have given me work. I remember when you gifted me the set, you have no idea how much I got out of that set," he expressed.
The surprise was so great that at the end of the video, Pocho called his son to share the news: “I’m going to give you the address so you can come over, my son, because he gave me a car, Ricardo.”
Arjona accompanied the images of the meeting on his social media with a phrase: "Another taxi story. Perhaps the most beautiful. Things that happen."
The story of Pocho is linked to one of the singer's most well-known themes, Taxi Story, included in his album Stories, released in 1994. The song originated from a request made by a Mexican taxi driver to the artist to dedicate a composition to those who practice that profession, as reported by the Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre.
The yellow Volkswagen also became one of the most recognizable elements in the stage performances of the song.
The tribute coincides with the preparations for Arjona's arrival in Mexico with his tour What the Seco Didn't Say, which will kick off his performances in the country on November 7.
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