Selena, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente In U.S. Postal Stamp Form

The U.S. Postal service issued stamps in December to commemorate the achievements of Latino musicians across time and genres. The stamps will feature images of Selena, Carlos Gardel, Carmen Miranda, Tito Puente and Celia Cruz and will be available for purchase in March.

Even though people are using stamps less and less (I actually love to write letters myself!) I think it’s great the U.S. Postal Service is still issuing beautiful stamps that try to make a commentary, if not an impact, on our society. And they even hired a Latino artist! According to the Post Office press release:

“For these stamps, artist Rafael Lopez, of San Diego, CA, painted semi-realistic portraits of each musical artist designed to evoke their personality, vitality, and even their sound. He used a warm palette of colors—from brilliant yellows, pinks, and lime green to rich shades of purple and blue—to suggest the flavor and energy these artists brought to their work. Each musician is depicted in mid-performance. One can almost hear Celia Cruz shout her trademark rallying cry ¡Azucar! (Sugar!) or sense Tito Puente’s rhythmic intensity as he performed one of his progressive arrangements on the timbales. Art director Ethel Kessler, of Bethesda, Maryland, says, ‘My goal was that when you see the stamp, you hear the music.'”

What do you all think?