COVER N.65 - Colombia

Postmark: P.V. Unicentro - Quatro Setenta y dos - Servicio de Envios de Colombia - 31DIC2021
Posted on the 31th December; received on the 27th January
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What a cover I got this time.... a true Mega-Cover, if not for the size, at least for the sheer number of stamps that decorate it, and what's more, from a country that will fill another gap in my collection...

Thanks a lot Roland. I was speechless, when Mr. Postman rang for the delivery, I still have trouble finding the right words to say how much I appreciated it.

The envelope was so big I couldn't scan it, so it'll have to be a shot taken with my mobile phone:

Stamps. left to right, top to bottom:

Se-tenant 10.000 Pesos stamp pair issued on 09MAY2018, as a joint issue with Mexico, celebrating the year of the friendship between the two countries. Butterflies, common to both Colombia and Mexico, were chosen as the symbol of this friendship, the honour falling on the iconic Monarch (Danaus plexippus) a member of Nymphalidae family, whose trans-american migration is well known and many times cited as one of the most spectacular animal migrations.

The other stamp features the beautiful Blue Morpho (Morpho Pleides), another member of the Nymphalidae family, that can have a wingspan as large as 20 cm, what makes it easy to identify it.

1000 Peso stamp pair issued on 22JUL21, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the La Grand Colombia University, Founded in 1951.

200 Peso stamp se-tenant pair, part of a 8 equally denominated stamp minisheet, issued on 20JAN2021, dedicated to the National Parks of Bolivia. This is listed on several sources as  being the 8th series dedicated to this theme, the first 6 having been issued in 2019. The stamp on the left depicts the locally known as Paingua (Anadara tuberculosa) bivalve clam, which is exploited for food and commercialisation while that on the right shows a photo from a mangrove at Sanquianga Park. Since  Painguas thrive in mangroves, I would believe that the fact both stamps are paired is due to this relationship.

Pair of the 50 Pesos stamp issued on 10JUL20217, celebrating the 90th anniversary of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia.

pair of 500 Pesos Stamps, part of a minisheet of equally priced 6 stamps issued on 24FEB2021celebrating the Colombian distinguished personalities. The top stamp is dedicated to Enrique Grau (1920-2004), one of the most representative Colombian painters of the 20th century, famous for his portraits of Amerindian and Afro-colombian characters. the bottom stamp is dedicated to Alejandro Óbregon, (1920-1992) another outstanding Colombian painter (although Spanish born) who was also a sculptor, a muralist and an engraver, known for his colourful hard to categorise paintings where the abstract mingles with the figurative and the real with the surreal.

5,000 Pesos stamp se-tenant pair, issued on 04JUL2021, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the San Juan-San Pedro Folklore Festival, that yearly take place in June in Bambuco in the region of Huila in the centre of  Colombia. Honouring both saints this festival is a way to promote local traditions especially dancing.

As a side note, I should say that in my own country,  Portugal, S. João and S. Pedro, (along with S. António) also are revered as patrons of several cities and yearly their days are celebrated with popular festivals,  an occasion for partying with popular music and  dances (Marches) and for indulging in  grilled sardines served on slices of  bread, all washed down with plenty of  red wine.

The last 10,000 Peso stamp was issued on 26AUG2020 with the noblest of intentions: raising funds to support the "Computers in education" programme, an aim that was reinforced by the educational challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and  its implications on face-to-face education...

The legend on the stamp reads Colombia rewrites its history.... I hope Colombia succeeds in doing so!

Unfortunately, a full minisheet fell from the envelope while in transit, so the right hand side has a conspicuous white space that should have been filled with a full set of 9 stamps....