Located in the square of the Avenue of the Italians and Macacha Guemes, in the neighborhood Puerto Madero, in Buenos Aires, the Monument to the Taxi Driver is a tribute to the thousands of men and women who provide an important public transportation service to the city. Inaugurated in 2012, the monument depicts a bald and mustachioed taxi driver casually leaning on to the side of a classic 1967 car model of a Siam Di Tella — an old Argentinian manufacturing company, and one of the most popular choices for taxis in the Argentinian capital in the 1960s and 70s.
The sculpture was created by the artist Fernando Pugliese, and appears like bronze but is actually made of a synthetic material commonly used in the shipbuilding industry. This special polymer can withstand the rigors of the weather and can receive a special patina that makes them appear like bronze.
Nearly 40,000 yellow-roofed taxis run in the Argentinian capital, providing employment to 70,000 drivers and as many families. The official taxi service has existed in Buenos Aires since 1902. For a long time, taxis could be painted in any color and identified only by the "flag" of the clock, which bore the word "free" in white letters on a red background. Then a rule was introduced in 1967 requiring they be painted in yellow and black.
Sources: www.clarin.com / Waymarking
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