Jade
Esteban Estrada
will perform his one-man
show, "ICONS: The
Lesbian and Gay
History of the World, Vol. 1,"
tonight and Tuesday at the University
Center in Cape Girardeau.
Five
years ago, Estrada was a closeted Latino singer
performing at a
gay pride festival in Utica, N.Y. Listening to a
prominent local
politician quote the U.S. Constitution, he
remembered black
Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, during President
Richard Nixon's
impeachment hearings, referring to the
Constitution as a beautiful
document that at the time it was written didn't
include her.
He recalled her saying, "Today I do not
want to see this document
falter. That's why we're here."
On stage that day, Estrada announced to the
world that he was proud
to be a gay Latino.
Through monologues and songs in
"ICONS," Estrada portrays the Greek poet Sappho, artist Michelangelo, writers Oscar
Wilde and Gertrude
Stein and comedian Ellen DeGeneres.
The show is not meant for just a gay and lesbian
audience, Estrada
said. "These are not just pictures of gays
and lesbians, but pictures
that are human, timeless and belong to the
world. They belong to
everybody."
For years, Estrada was the choreographer and
lead dancer in singer
Charo's show. Parts of his songs have been used
in the TV series "The
Shield."
Estrada has never presented the show in a city
as small as Cape
Girardeau before. It just completed a weeklong
run in St. Louis and
is off to Los Angeles after two nights in Cape
Girardeau.
The event is co-sponsored by the Cape Girardeau
gay and lesbian
organization Visions of Pride, the Southeast
Missouri State
University gay and lesbian organization Rainbow
Alliance, and Student
Government at Southeast.
Denise Eaker, director of Visions of Pride,
booked Estrada's show,
said she hopes people of all orientations will
attend.
Josh Rideout, president of the Rainbow Alliance,
said his
organization has 18 student members and four
community members. He is
eager to see Estrada's show.
"From what I hear, he has been a good
performer at other
universities," Rideout said. "That was
our main reason for picking
him."
©2005 Southeast Missourian
