About This Stamp
With this stamp issuance, the U.S. Postal Service honors five musicians and performers of the Latin sound whose contributions have had a lasting impact on American music—Selena, Carlos Gardel, Carmen Miranda, Tito Puente, and Celia Cruz. Among the distinctive musical genres and styles represented are Tejano, tango, samba, Latin jazz, and salsa.
The flavor, the energy, and even the sound of each musical artist is captured in these five semi-realistic portraits rendered in a warm palette of colors ranging from brilliant yellows, pinks, and lime green to rich shades of purple and blue. 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.
Celia Cruz (1925-2003) was a dazzling performer with a powerful contralto voice and a joyful, charismatic personality. Settling in the United States following the Cuban revolution, the “Queen of Salsa” performed for more than five decades and recorded more than 50 albums.
Texas-born Selena Quintanilla-Perez (1971-1995)—known to fans simply as Selena—helped transform and popularize Tejano music by integrating techno-hip-hop beats and disco-influenced dance movements with a captivating stage presence.
Carlos Gardel (1890?-1935) was one of the most celebrated tango artists of all time. Raised in Argentina, Gardel helped popularize the tango in the United States, Europe, and throughout Latin America through his performances and recordings.
Born in Portugal and raised in Brazil, Carmen Miranda (1909-1955) achieved fame as a samba singer before moving to the U.S., where she gained instant celebrity in theater, film, and radio. The “Brazilian Bombshell” appeared in 14 Hollywood musicals and recorded more than 300 songs.
Born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents, Tito Puente (1923-2000) was a musical virtuoso. Popularly known as El Rey, “The King” helped bring Afro-Cuban and Caribbean sounds to mainstream audiences. He performed for more than 60 years, and his legacy includes more than 140 albums.
Art director Ethel Kessler collaborated with artist Rafael Lopez on these five stamps.
The Latin Music Legends stamps are being issued in panes of 20 self-adhesive Forever® stamps, with four of each different design. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.
Tito Puente licensed by the Ernest Puente Trust.
Selena licensed by Q Productions, Inc., Corpus Christi, Texas.
The name, image and likeness of Celia Cruz licensed by the Celia Cruz Knight Estate, Miami, Florida.
Stamp Art Director, Stamp Designer
Ethel Kessler
Ethel Kessler is an award-winning designer and art director who has worked with corporations, museums, public and private institutions, professional service organizations, and now, the United States Postal Service.
After earning a B.F.A. in visual communications from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Kessler worked as a graphic designer and project manager for the exhibits division of the United States Information Agency. Her work was distributed internationally on subjects such as Immigration, Entrepreneurship, Renovation of American Cities, and the Bicentennial of 1976. She was also responsible for exhibits in Morocco, Botswana, and El Salvador.
In 1981, she established Kessler Design, Inc., for which she is creative director and designer. Clients have included the Clinton Government reorganization, the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Television, the National Park Service, and the American Institute of Architects.
She has been an art director for the U.S. Postal Service’s stamp development program for more than 25 years. As an art director for USPS, Kessler has been responsible for creating more than 500 stamp designs, including the Breast Cancer Research stamp illustrated by Whitney Sherman. Issued in 1998, the stamp is still on sale and has raised more $98 million for breast cancer research. Other Kessler projects include the popular and highly regarded Nature of America 120 stamp series, a collaboration with nationally acclaimed nature illustrator John Dawson, the 12-year Lunar New Year series with Kam Mak, the American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes 10 stamps issued in 2003, a 2016 pane of stamps celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and the 2023 stamp honoring Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And many, many others.