WTOP celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month this Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, with stories spotlighting the contributions, culture and accomplishments of Hispanic communities across the D.C. region.
Some artists have huge canvases that allow them to express themselves with sweeping designs.
Antonio Alcalá, art director for the U.S. Postal Service’s stamp development program, works on a much smaller scale. His “canvas” measures about one inch by one inch, but the stamps he designs have a wide-ranging impact.
The stamps that are developed and designed by Alcalá and artists from around the country are affixed to millions of pieces of mail in all 50 states. And stamps that celebrate Hispanic heritage are among them.
“We have conversations within the Postal Service every year about the balance of the stamp program,” Alcalá told WTOP from his Northern Virginia studio.
“We have done stamps on piñatas, for instance, and we’ve done stamps for mariachis, and we’ve done stamps on foods that are very common that we’ve introduced to the American culture,” Alcalá said.
The “Delicioso” series of stamps were released in 2017 and featured common Latin American foods, including tamales, flan and empanadas. Alcalá has also designed stamps commemorating the lives of famous Hispanic Americans like actor José Ferrer and musician Lydia Mendoza, who is often called the first “Queen of Tejano” music.
According to Alcalá, the Postal Service is constantly looking for ways to address and reflect the experiences of Americans through its stamps. Previously, it had a “Black Heritage” series and a set of stamps on the Latino community.
Some of the postage Alcalá has designed have a deep, personal resonance, like this year’s Hanukkah stamp. It shows a simple white menorah on a blue background. Nine yellow flames float above each arm of the menorah.
Alcalá said the stamp allowed him to express a part of his Jewish portion of his heritage.
“My mother escaped the Holocaust on the Kindertransport,” he said. “We were a secular Jewish family, but we did celebrate Hanukkah when I was a child. So being able to bring my personal experiences and thoughts to a stamp was a very exciting and fulfilling moment for me.”
A stamp that generated lots of feedback was the postage honoring Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay politicians elected to public office, Alcalá said. Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.
“I heard from many people from around the country how important it was for them to see the United States officially recognizing a member of the LGBTQ community on a stamp,” he said.
Alcala told WTOP that the U.S. Postal Service does “a fantastic job” of celebrating America’s rich, multifaceted cultural history. Each stamp or series may highlight a particular element of American life, but Alcalá said, “It’s all part of the American fabric, it’s all part of the American story. “
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