This week, the very friendly, jovial Jade Esteban Estrada spoke with the

 Entertainer about what got him into acting, his role in the play "Tortilla Heaven," and what the production means to him.

     "I was a scratch vocalist for the Back Street Boys, said Jade, "and I got into acting because I would sing all the time. Once you get into it you realize that you can't do one and not the other."

     Because of his love for music, he eventually got into musicals, starting dancing and acting. "Everything else," he said, "just kind of evolved."

     "Tortilla Heaven" follows three Mexican-American generations who share the richness of what it means to be a Latino family. The story takes place in San Antonio, and tells the story of a grandmother, who doesn't speak much English (actually she just prefers to speak Spanish). The grandmother has one very successful daughter who is an author. Elvira Ruiz, or as she prefers to call herself, Vera Mae Ruiz, has become famous for encouraging other Latinos around the country to strictly speak English and nothing else. She believes that "this is the true means to success in America."

     At one point, Vera Mae has the opportunity to become even more successful and come back to San Antonio for the first time in 11 years. Vera Mae says she is traveling to San Antonio with her 11-year-old son, Charles so he can get to know his family. She really, however, has other plans.

     "Vera Mae eventually leaves Carlitos with the family in San Antonio and you never really see her after that," said Jade who plays an older Carlitos in the play.

     Carlos grows up with the family and the Mexican culture and becomes a professor at UT Austin. There he writes a book titled "Tortilla Heaven" which takes the best of his mother and the San Antonio family.

     "What's beautiful about the Latin culture is that we have a very close-knit, loving, forgiving family relationships," said Jade. "I remember when we worked with a full cast in New York; we ended the play with everyone joining for dinner. As all the cast members come onstage, grabbing for tortillas, and getting the chilito, one of the vecinas (neighbors) comes in with a picture of Vera Mae and plops it onto the table. This was a very beautiful message that sea lo que sea (no matter what), Vera Mae is still family."

     Jade goes on to say that the play is trying to tell everyone that they need to hold on to their culture, to acknowledge the changes that happens in families and allow people to be who they have to be.

     "I'm gay and I'm also Latino, said Jade, "and very few times in my world do the two mix. When I do "Tortilla Heaven" it feels so wonderful for me. I feel very much a part of my family with Celeste, my sister who wrote it and my brother David who directed it and that's a beautiful thing."

     Jade added that with "Tortilla Heaven" he feels like he's continuing his culture and keeping it alive in a modern way.

     "This is important because we are the young generation," said Jade. "We have to do it because if we don't our culture is going to die. We can't let that happen. We can't let America do that to our culture."

     "Tortilla Heaven" will play again in San Antonio in 2006.

©2005 La Prensa de San Antonio