Lydia Mendoza | USPS Stamp of Approval

Recently we sat down with Deborah Vargas, an expert on Latina culture who writes about music, to find out why Lydia Mendoza is the perfect person to kick off the new Music Icons stamp series.

Stamp of Approval: How do you feel about honoring Lydia Mendoza on a stamp?

Vargas: My grandparents immigrated to Texas from Mexico at the beginning of the twentieth century. It’s especially meaningful to me, as someone whose family listened to Mendoza’s music and who feels especially connected to her story. Mendoza is someone who represents the histories of labor and cultural contributions of Mexican descent people in the United States. It is an excellent choice to have her name and image circulate as part of this significant U.S. postal series.

Q: The Mendoza stamp is the first in a new series called “Music Icons.” What makes her a true music icon?

A: Mendoza, along with her family, was an extremely skilled performer. She had tremendous vocals and knew how to play many instruments. She played the 12-string guitar, which is more rare, especially for women guitarists. She surpassed social barriers, including racial discrimination, that were difficult for anyone, much less a Mexican American women to succeed at. Mendoza worked, traveled, performed, and recorded longer than most singers, for over six decades. She was one of the earliest Mexican Americans to record for a major recording label. Mendoza accomplished all of this while also raising a family.

Q: Do you have any plans to use the new Lydia Mendoza stamps?

A: Yes. I’m very excited to use them in my daily life. I’ve already pre-ordered several sheets for myself and also plan to purchase others to gift to family and friends. There is tremendous excitement in Mexican American and Latino communities over the release of this stamp.

Thank you Ms. Vargas for the wonderful insight into Lydia Mendoza and for serving as our consultant on this exciting project!

The Lydia Mendoza Forever® stamp is currently available at usps.com/stamps and at Post Offices around the country, or you can call ().

To celebrate the release of the new Lydia Mendoza Forever® stamp (the first in the new Music Icons series!), we talked to a few people who had the honor of meeting Ms. Mendoza and speaking with her about music. Today we eavesdrop on a chat between the Queen of Tejano and Deborah Vargas, who interviewed her for the Smithsonian and served as our expert consultant for the project.

This collectible souvenir sheet of 16 Lydia Mendoza (Forever®) stamps has been cancelled by four official first-day black postmarks. Click the image for more details.

Vargas: I will never forget the experience of conducting an oral history with Mendoza, as part of the Smithsonian’s Latino Music Oral History Project. Even at her older age and being the humble person she always was, Mendoza still conveyed a magical presence whose spirit filled the room.

What struck me the most were little things that represented the masterful professional performer she was her entire life. For example, she knew exactly where to place herself in proximity to the microphone for best sound quality. She sat with perfect posture during the entire interview (just as she had for decades when she sang and played guitar). She was extremely thoughtful when she spoke about the music, because she was so connected to how music conveyed histories, and joy in Mexican working people’s everyday lives.

Q: Do you have a favorite quote from the interview?

A: My favorite quote from the interview was when I asked her how she would deal with it, if someday, she was not able to play her guitar. Her response: “There is no Lydia Mendoza without her guitar.” This was a profound response because it conveyed how intertwined Mendoza was with her instrument and how her instrument was never a side, mechanical sound apparatus for her, but rather who she was in her essence.

Q: What makes Lydia Mendoza a great stamp subject?

A: There are tons of Mexican Americans and Latinos who will never be cultural performers or famous for what they do, but they take pride in their work and social contributions, just as Mendoza did. Mendoza certainly saw herself as a musician, but she never dissociated it from work and therefore she had tremendous respect for those who worked hard at the hardest jobs.

Mendoza didn’t make music to become famous or make money, she made music to create beauty and joy in the worlds of the most downtrodden. Her public felt this every time Mendoza sang and when they would hear her over the radio waves. This makes Mendoza’s stamp meaningful for American music history, as well as Mexican American history, because Mendoza’s image is such a profound symbol that so many can see themselves in.

What a beautiful sentiment. How has the music of Lydia Mendoza impacted you?

The Lydia Mendoza Forever® stamp was released May 15, 2013, and is currently available at usps.com/stamps and at Post Offices around the country. You can also purchase the stamps by calling (). Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce rate.

You may think you’ve never heard the music of Lydia Mendoza, whose stamp, the first in the new Music Icons series, was released on Wednesday, May 15. But if you’re a movie fan, think again!

Mendoza sings her best known song, “Mal Hombre,” on the deluxe soundtrack for the 2010 film Crazy Heart. The film starring Jeff Bridges won two Oscars, but not surprisingly, the soundtrack of this movie about musicians also turned out to be a hit, and won a Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack. Lydia Mendoza keeps some excellent company on the CD, which also features Townes Van Zandt, Waylon Jennings, Greg Brown, and Kitty Wells. Legendary 10-time Grammy winner T-Bone Burnett produced the disc. And if T-Bone is a Mendoza fan, that’s an excellent reason to add her to your playlist!

Mendoza’s music also appears in another popular film, the 1996 John Sayles hit Lone Star. On the soundtrack of the film, appropriately set in her home state of Texas, Mendoza performs “Jurame,” a love song by Mexican composer Maria Grever. According to the soundtrack review on Amazon.com, “this collection of country, blues, norteño, R&B, and folk songs . . . [with] strong performances from Lucinda Williams [and] legendary Mexican songstress Lydia Mendoza . . . give Lone Star heft far beyond most cinematic song compilations.” We couldn’t agree more.

Celebrate one of the first and greatest stars of Tejano music with this First Day Cover bearing an affixed Lydia Mendoza (Forever®) stamp and an official First Day of Issue postmark. Click the image for details.

If you’ve never seen these two films, the soundtracks are a fun way to meet a true music icon. Also be sure to check out our brand spanking new Lydia Mendoza playlist, created just for you on Rdio. Let us know what you think. What songs would you add?

The Lydia Mendoza Forever® stamp is currently available at usps.com/stamps and at Post Offices around the country. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce rate.

With her 12-string guitar and unmistakable, soulful voice, (1916–2007)—whose career spanned seven decades—was one of the first and greatest stars of Tejano music. As a pioneer in this primarily Spanish-language genre of the Texas-Mexico borderlands, she gave a voice to Latinos throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Mendoza is not the first Tejano icon to appear on a U.S. postage stamp. In 2011, the Latin Music Legends Forever® stamps featured Selena (1971–1995), the wildly popular “Queen of Tejano.” Like Mendoza, Selena got her musical start at a young age, singing in a family band before breaking out as a solo performer. Her charisma and strong voice made her a dynamic entertainer.

Mendoza helped define the distinctive Tejano style—a combination of Mexican ranchera-style music mixed with German polka sounds—and Selena transformed it, integrating techno-hip-hop beats and disco-influenced dance moves. While most of her songs were sung in Spanish, Selena recorded a crossover album released after her death that was meant to appeal to new English-language audiences. Shortly after its release in 1995, Dreaming of You hit number 1 on the Billboard 200, immortalizing the singer as an international sensation.

Though their songs vary in sound and style, Lydia Mendoza and Selena were both important representatives of Latino culture in America. Their legacies live on in the musicians who continue to play in a genre that Selena modernized and Mendoza helped create.

We wish to extend great thanks to everyone who came out to the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio, Texas, last week for the release of the Lydia Mendoza Forever® stamp. What a fantastic celebration in honor of one of the first and greatest stars of Tejano music! For those of you who missed it, here’s a brief recap:

The is available for purchase at local Post Offices, online at www.usps.com/stamps, or by calling (). Because it is a Forever stamp, it can be used to mail one-ounce First-Class letters anytime in the future regardless of price changes.

Lydia Mendoza is the first artist featured in the new Music Icons series, which will include stamps honoring legends Johnny Cash and Ray Charles later this year. Collect them all!

USPS Stamp of Approval

Tag Archives: Lydia Mendoza

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