NBC News calls him "America's Prince of Pride".
Critics around the world have
compared him to "a cross between Andy Warhol and
Billy Graham." Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine calls him "one
of the finest solo theatre artists of the 21st century." He's been seen in feature films, on Comedy Central's "The Graham Norton Effect," "In the Life" on PBS, "Friday Night Lights" and "30 Rock" on NBC and has headlined concerts, theatres and comedy clubs around the world. Meet "master
entertainer"
Jade Esteban Estrada.
As a singer, Genre Magazine calls him “the most exciting
Latin pop artist ever to emerge onto the music scene”.
He has performed in seven languages and in 33 countries to
date and his hypnotic music can be heard on the Golden Globe
and Emmy award-winning police drama "The Shield" on FX. The Advocate calls him "exquisite."
The Estrella award-winning singer was born and raised in the
Tejano music capital of the world, San Antonio, Texas. The son
of a U.S. Army officer,
Estrada won a scholarship to the
American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York and
sharpened his knowledge of his chosen profession. He
studied dance (alongside Jennifer Lopez) with Slam, the
lead dancer from Madonna's Blonde Ambition Tour among
other notable teachers of the era.
While still at the conservatory, he briefly worked as an
assistant to Tony award-winning actress
Zoe Caldwell who once told
him "in order to prepare for your career as an actor,
you must do everything!" And that he did.
In 1994, he took home the prize for the
Funniest Amateur
Comic in New York at Stand-Up New York. He made his living
as a choreographer by day (a skill that came very naturally to
him) and performed as a singer, dancer, actor, writer and
go-go boy by night. His main concern during this period was
getting from one show to the next.
He began his pop music career as a member of the three-member
hip-hop group The Model Citizens (with Mario Vasquez of
"American Idol" fame). The group enjoyed a
notable success, however, after several heated debates over
who the lead singer was,
Estrada ceremoniously left the group
for Europe to pursue a solo career.
While searching for his niche,
Estrada once again supplemented
his income by playing major roles in high profile shows abroad
such as the German production of "Starlight Express." He
spent most of his time writing songs with JELS, a duo
he formed with West End starlet Samantha Lavender. However,
still desperately unfulfilled, he returned to America and to
his theatrical roots debuting his one-man show "It's Too
Late...It's Already in Me" at the 1997 Festival de Libre
Enganche representing the United States to high acclaim.
During his stint as choreographer and lead dancer for Charo
(yes, cuchi-cuchi Charo), he signed to Total Envision
Records in 1998 releasing the hit single, "Reggae Twist."
He toured extensively performing with top names in the Latin
Music world and became the first performer to open the Tejano
Concert at Christiansen Stadium in Texas since Selena. He also
gained an unusual popularity performing on the global beauty
pageant circuit where he became known as the "Prince of
Pageantry." He was awarded several coveted awards from the
Miss Universe Organization, the Miss America Scholarship
Program, the Miss Black World Organization and Miss Latina
USA.
In September 2000, he opened the doors to his own label and
released his long-awaited debut album
"Angel" (Vicarious) in
February 2001 and for the next three years toured the globe
extensively to impressive reviews including a headlining
appearance at Europride in Vienna and several other
high-profile Latin music events. He has shared the stage with
Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Ricky Martin, Margaret Cho, RuPaul,
Jody Watley, and Jimmy Somerville and countless other fabulous
stars. In 2002, Estrada lent his golden voice to the "Being
Out Rocks" (Centaur) compilation CD where he joined such
artists as Cyndi Lauper, Sarah McLachlan and Taylor Dayne and
was awarded the Premio Estrella at the 9th Annual
Encuentro Awards in Miami for outstanding visibility and
achievement in the entertainment industry. Out Magazine
christened him "the first gay Latin star."
Estrada turned his attention to the solo theatre format in
2002 with the debut of his wildly popular one-man show
"ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of
the World, Vol. 1" which also toured
extensively. His sequel
"ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 2"
won the
2004 Audience Favorite Award in Solo Performance at
the
Columbus National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival in
September 2004 and garnished several other awards. In 2006, he
debuted
"ICONS:
The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 3" and
took home awards for
Best Solo
Performance and
Best Original Music. He is also
the man behind the hit Latin show
"Tortilla
Heaven"
written by
his sister Celeste Angela Estrada and directed by his brother
David Miguel Estrada of Saturday Night Live fame.
In 2007, the artist debuted three
more shows "Gay
Christian, Gay Muslim, Gay Jew," "Pico de
Gallo" and "A
Lullaby for Ryan: The History
of HIV/AIDS in America" and in 2008 he
debuted "Chek it, Baby: A Fabulous Explanation of Anton
Chekhov's Fiercest Plays" at the 2008 Twin Cities Chekhov
Festival.
Estrada is a strict vegan and a gifted palm reader.
Through his
work in his artistic and political endeavors,
Jade
Esteban Estrada is fast
becoming one of the world's most ground breaking
personalities.