The Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona surprised everyone 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 large red bow, in a moment captured in a video shared by the show El Gordo y La Flaca on Instagram.
“For us, returning to Mexico is a celebration. 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 the Mexican capital. That chance encounter ultimately evolved 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.
Reflecting on the years they had worked together, Arjona initially estimated that they had been on eight tours, but Pocho corrected him: "Twelve tours." Surprised by the figure, the artist acknowledged that they had practically shared an entire lifetime.
After recalling some anecdotes, Arjona asked him to look toward a corner, where the yellow car was waiting for him.
"We decided to pay tribute to you, and this is for you," he announced. In front of Pocho's disbelief, the singer insisted, "This is not an act. This is yours; I gift it to you."
Visibly emotional, Pocho thanked the Guatemalan for so many years of friendship and collaboration, and recalled another gesture of generosity he had received from 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 design; you have no idea how much I benefited from 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'll give you the address so you can come over, my son, because Ricardo gave me a car."
Arjona accompanied the images from the meeting on his social media with a phrase: "Another taxi story. Perhaps the most beautiful one. Things that happen."
The story of Pocho is linked to one of the singer's most well-known themes, "Historia de taxi," included in his album Historias, released in 1994. The song originated from a request made by a Mexican taxi driver to the artist to dedicate a composition to those working in that profession, according to the Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre.
The yellow Volkswagen also became one of the most recognizable elements in the stage representations of the song.
The tribute coincides with the preparations for Arjona's arrival in Mexico with his tour What the Drought Didn't Say, which will begin its performances in the country on November 7.
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