Jade Esteban Estrada recently obtained his first-ever driver's license. "I've always had a car and driver in my contract," says the gay Latin pop star and actor. "Not because I'm Diana Ross, but because I've never had a driver's license. It would be great if Phoenix was the first city I could drive around in." Estrada gets his chance on Thursday and Friday, September 29 and 30, when he brings his one-man musical comedy ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 1 to the Paper Heart Gallery, 750 Grand Avenue.

The former lead dancer for Charo imitates a canon of homo-culture heroes in his show, including Sappho, Michelangelo, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, Sylvia Rivera, Ellen DeGeneres, and Billie Jean King. And while Estrada's long been an admired figure in gay culture, his ICONS show has earned kudos from all sorts of groups.

"Everybody understands oppression in some way, shape or form," says Estrada.

Catch Estrada's drift at 8 each night. Tickets cost $15.

©2005 Phoenix New Times