LYDIA MENDOZA Music Icon Forever Postage: Vintage Tejano (Texas-Mexican) Singer

Description

This Listing is for ONE NEW Single
Lydia Mendoza
Forever Stamp from 2013.
Mint. MNH. No flaws. From a Smoke-free and Pet-free Environment.
The U.S. Postal Service issued this self-adhesive
Lydia Mendoza
Forever stamp on May 15, 2013 in San Antonio, TX - the 1st in the Music Icons Series. Designed by Greg Breeding, this stamp includes a 1950s photograph of Mendoza behind a design similar to the Texas flag.
Crossing the Texas border, a four-year-old girl was doused with gasoline by immigration officials to kill lice. Putting poverty and humiliation behind, Lydia Mendoza (1916-2007) soon became the first icon of Mexican-American culture.
Like thousands of other immigrants fleeing the Mexican Revolution, the Mendoza’s made their home in the Texas borderlands and found work as migrant laborers. Lydia learned to play guitar from her parents and songs lyrics from collecting bubble gum wrappers, which had the words printed on them to promote music publishers.
The Mendoza women played music for money in plazas and cafes, a practice that was dominated by men. After the family hitchhiked to San Antonio, Lydia caught the attention of a local radio announcer. Live radio performances led to a recording contract in 1934. Lydia’s version of Mal Hombre, which she had learned from a gum wrapper, became an overnight success. Accompanied only by her 12-string guitar, Lydia’s clear, powerful song styling helped to make Tejano (Texas-Mexican) music popular.
Known as the “Lark of the Border” and the Queen of Tejano music, Mendoza became the first Texan to receive the prestigious National Heritage Fellowship lifetime achievement award.
Scott # 4786
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