Before reading this article by Jack Child, I had never really registered the soft power associated with postage stamps, along with their cultural messages and historical significance. Something so casually overlooked as most people only appreciate its functional and/or aesthetic value and yet Child makes it seem like he has opened the pandora’s box on world history, and in this case that of Latin America, by just analyzing postage from our recent past.

Through a semiotic approach, the article makes themes such as nationalism, politics, and economics seem glaringly obvious to someone who may not have processed how the postage stamp can be used as a propaganda tool. Since the mail is being sent from within and outside state boundaries, it makes sense as an effective way to advertise your country’s ideals or primary exports. It can also open old political wounds, as in the case of Belize and Guatemala, Venezuela and Guyana, and many other conflicts of interests in Latin America due to moved borderlines in the maps drawn in their postage and the slogans that accompany them.

And in this sense as well, the images and slogans that these Latin American governments chose to highlight and send all over the world helped forge an idea of what their popular culture is. Whether it be the 1970 Mexico City stamp for the World Soccer Cup Games or the competitive coffee stamps amongst the major producers (Brazil, Ecuador, Columbia, and several other central American nations), seeing these images repetitively not only on postage has informed foreigners and locals alike that ‘fútbol’ and coffee beans are items that define popular culture in Latin America.

What I found the most intriguing, however, is the lack of representation for women that Child noted. In the 1960s and 1970s, there was some representation such as stamps including Evita Perón, or heroines of Revolutionary movements but that was about it. Therefore, I strongly believe this bias comes from machismo that is embedded in Latin American society. Just in the production of stamps that predominantly celebrate the accomplishments of men relay that only their achievements are valid in the same way that they promote other cultural aspects of their countries. In this sense, machismo can be seen as an item of popular culture as well, as it is subliminally reinforced by governments and is encouraged by large sections of the LA population.

Overall, I thought Jack Child’s article was an excellent read. The flow of the article built up rather smoothly and introduced the reader to concepts such as semiotics concisely so that we could easily digest his argument. Plus, the content itself was interesting, but I may just think that because I enjoy everything political.

So, the question for this week is: Do you think Child left out any important themes that can be conveyed from stamps? Why?

What struck me in particular about Williams’ article was the attention to detail when emphasizing that culture is ‘ordinary’. As described by Williams, popular culture is made for and by the people of a particular society regardless of status. He notes the individual characteristics, professions, and inner workings of the town he grew up in to highlight that each person, each town contributes to the whole while maintaining their individuality. Simultaneously, people can contribute and ascribe to a shared set of practices and beliefs on the national level and in their own localities. Culture is a common resource, and its validity exists outside social hierarchies.

From that point of view, it is easy to find euro-centrism as an elitist critic of cultural practices in the Global South. The events and rituals that are performed by the marginalized are often dismissed despite defining many moments in popular culture. Reggaetón, for example, was created by Afro-Latinx communities in the Caribbean but became popularized through Spanish artists in recent years, as well as these same popular artists borrowing clothing and hairstyles from the African diaspora to promote their music without acknowledging the cultures that inspired them.

That being said, do any of you agree with the sentiment that popular culture is ordinary? That it exists outside the bounds of social class?

Saludos a todos! My name is Ayla and I am a 4th year International Relations major. I am a Vancouverite as I have lived here my whole life, but have a keen interest in Latin American popular culture as I am half-Mexican myself. Every couple of years or so I get to visit my family and Mexico, but for the most part, I have to experience my own culture through media. 

Generally speaking, I enjoy listening to Spanish music, dancing, and learning about as many things as possible. I currently speak 3 languages and learning 2 more, with the hopes of learning 8 in total. Learning about world politics also consumes a lot of my time in and out of school because I genuinely find it fascinating and would like to get involved one day.