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.