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 Alcal谩, 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 Alcal谩 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,” Alcal谩 told WTOP from his .
“We have done stamps on pi帽atas, 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,” Alcal谩 said.
The of stamps were released in 2017 and featured common Latin American foods, including tamales, flan and empanadas. Alcal谩 has also designed stamps commemorating the lives of famous Hispanic Americans like and , who is often called the first “Queen of Tejano” music.
According to Alcal谩, the Postal Service is constantly looking for ways to address and reflect the experiences of Americans through its stamps. Previously, it had a series and a set of
Some of the postage Alcal谩 has designed have a deep, personal resonance, like this year’s . It shows a simple white menorah on a blue background. Nine yellow flames float above each arm of the menorah.
Alcal谩 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, one of the first openly gay politicians elected to public office, Alcal谩 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 Alcal谩 said, “It’s all part of the American fabric, it’s all part of the American story. “
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