Dodge City in Ford County, Kansas — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Mobile Man & La Salsa Man
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 18, 2022
1. Mobile Man & La Salsa Man Marker
“Muffler Men”
These large fiberglass statues are known as “Muffler Men.” They were predominantly used to promote businesses or as road side attractions throughout the United States. La Salsa Man towers 26 feet tall and is a caricature of a Mexican waiter who is serving Mexican cuisine. Mobile Man was created from a similar statue called Tony who was used at a muffler shop/gas station to attract business.
“Mobile Man”
Mobile Man stands at 26 feet and was cast from a mold known as “Tony” who stands at a car repair shop in Los Angeles. Tony sports a bow tie which is how La Salsa man came to wear one as well. Mobile Man, however is wearing a normal neckline and is a bit taller than Tony. Not much is known about Mobile Man other than he was featured in Life Magazine in the 1960's holding a poster for free five cent coupons. Mobile Man is currently standing in Haskell County near Sublette.
La Salsa Man
In 1980, an artist in California by the name of Bob “Daddy O” Wade, refashioned a muffler man made to look like a soda jerk carrying a hamburger into the La Salsa Man. According to the artist, he used the hamburger top bun for the
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Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper, of “Easy Rider” fame, was enthralled with the original muffler men and had two muffler men made — one being a La Salsa Man and the other Mobile Man. They toured the country with Dennis Hopper's art show. Dennis Hopper was born in Dodge City, Kansas in 1936. He was a typical Kansas farm boy growing up. He collected bugs in Mason jars, shot his BB gun and watched clouds take on different shapes. He enjoyed going fishing, shooting marbles and playing pool. At the age of fourteen, Dennis and his family moved to San Diego.
Dennis got his first break in acting in the mid 1950's with a television series “The Medic.” Soon after, he signed on with Warner Brothers to appear in “Rebel Without a Cause” opposite James Dean. Dean became his mentor and encouraged Dennis' photographic endeavors. Through the 1960's, Dennis
2. Marker detail: La Salsa Man Installation
After Dennis died, the Dodge City Area Arts Council was contacted by his art trust donating La Salsa Man and Mobile man as gifts. On April 13, 2013, the statues arrived in Dodge City via a television show known as “Shipping Wars.” They were erected at the Western State Bank Expo Center and later put in storage briefly. La Salsa Man was erected at Cup of Jones Coffee shop before finding a place on the corner of Third Avenue and Vine Street in historic Dodge City. Mobile Man is still located in Haskell County near Sublette, Kansas.
Erected by Mariah Fund.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Charity & Public Work • Entertainment. A significant historical date for this entry is April 13, 2013.
Location. 37° 45.322′ N, 100° 1.218′ W. Marker is in Dodge City, Kansas,
3. Marker detail: La Salsa Man & Mobile Man
Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest, in the Corn Belt, on the prairies, on the Great Plains, on the Southern Plains, on the High Plains, and on the Santa Fe Trail Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Comanchería, the Dust Bowl, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Republic of Texas.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Reading Garden (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Carnegie Library Building (about 400 feet away); From 'Cattle Capital' to modern city (about 400 feet away); On the Ashes of My Campfire This City is Built (about 500 feet away); Wyatt Earp (about 500 feet away); George M. Hoover (about 500 feet away); The Boot Hill Cemetery Site (about
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 18, 2022
4. Mobile Man & La Salsa Man Marker
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
Also see . . .
1. La Salsa Muffler Man (Dodge City, Kansas) (Roadside America).
Excerpt: Commissioned by movie star Dennis Hopper, La Salsa Man is a customized caricatured Mexican based on a California Muffler Man. Donated to Dodge City 2010, erected 2016, moved to new spot November 2017.(Submitted on August 9, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
2. La Salsa Muffler Man (Malibu, California) (Roadside America).
Excerpt: La Salsa Man is a caricature of a mustachioed Mexican bandit — one who prefers to serve a spicy platter of grilled delicacies from south of the border. He stands on a platform facing the Santa Monica Mountains, only a hundred feet from the Pacific Ocean. This fiberglass giant started in the late 1960s as a classic hamburger-clutching Muffler Man in white pants and short sleeve shirt. Steve Dashew, owner of International Fiberglass, regarded this Muffler Man as a rare placement(Submitted on August 9, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)in a “high rent district.” The figure was outfitted as a soda jerk of sorts, atop the Malibu Fosters Freeze.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 18, 20225. La Salsa ManArtist Bob "Daddy O" Wade executed the subsequent conversion and restyling of the figure in 1988, transforming the original soda jerk into La Salsa Man. Bob made ingenious use of existing pieces. “He's wearing the hamburger!” Bob told us, still pleased about it. “We sliced the burger bun, turned the top half into the sombrero, and the bottom into the tray. And we recycled the top of the guy's skull into the bowl of chips.”
By an odd coincidence, film star Dennis Hopper copied La Salsa Man — not realizing that his friend Bob Wade had created it — and turned it into a piece of pop art that toured Europe and wound up in Hopper's hometown of Dodge City, Kansas. “Dennis had no idea that La Salsa Man was a recent makeover by a contemporary artist,” said Bob. “Of all the Muffler Men in the LA area, he just liked my piece. I would have liked some credit, but I'm flattered that he chose mine.”
Credits. This page was last revised on August 9, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 9, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 10 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 9, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
