1998 32c Cinco de Mayo

US #3203
1998 Cinco de mayo

• Honors the Mexican holiday
• Issued jointly with Mexico

Stamp Category:  Special
Set:  Holiday Celebration series
Value:  32¢, First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue:  April 16, 1998
First Day City:  San Antonio, Texas (and Mexico City, Mexico)
Quantity Issued:  85,000,000
Printed by:  Stamp Venturers
Printing Method:  Photogravure
Format:  Pane of 20
Perforations:  Die Cut 11.7 X 10.9

Why the stamp was issued:  This stamp was issued to commemorate the Mexican and Mexican-American holiday Cinco de Mayo.

About the stamp design:  California artist Robert Rodriguez, a commercial illustrator, created the artwork for the stamp.  He used acrylics to paint two dancers in traditional Mexican costumes.  The Mexican Postal Service used the same image for their joint issue stamp.
This was the first time Rodriguez’s art was used on a stamp.  He later was asked to illustrate the 1980s decade Celebrate the Century stamps.

First Day City:  The stamp was dedicated at the Arneson River Theatre in San Antonio, Texas.  Another ceremony was held in Mexico City, Mexico.

Unusual fact about this stamp: This sheet was also issued in uncut press sheets.  Available only through Stamp Fulfillment Services, the sheets were made up of nine 20-stamp panes. 

About the Holiday Celebration Series:  The USPS introduced the Holiday Celebration series in 1996 with a stamp honoring the Jewish festival, Hanukkah.  The series commemorated a different cultural or religious holiday each year such as Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Eid, and others.

History the stamp represents:  Cinco de Mayo, a holiday commemorating Mexico’s miraculous defeat of an invading French army on may 5, 1862, is a colorful celebration of Mexican history and heritage.  It’s a day when Mexican people, living in their homeland or the United States, express pride in their country’s accomplishments.
The Mexican-American War *1846-48) left Mexico in ruins.  As a result of the war, the country lost much of its land to the US, suffered through civil unrest, and endured major political upheaval.  The Mexican government had little money, and in 1861, President Benito Juarez stopped payments on loans that France, Sapin, and Great Britain had made to help finance the war.  Troops from all three nations occupied Mexico for a time, but soon only the French remained.  France’s true motivation was to conquer Mexico and make it a French state.
On the fifth of May, 5000 inexperience, ill—equipped Mestizo and Zapotec Indians, guarding the two posts at Puebla, surprised the occupying French troops.  Fighting began during the morning hours, and by afternoon, the French withdrew.  The cry “Viva el Cinco de Mayo!” continues to inspire feeling of patriotism and unity in Mexican people today.