A tortilla, Jade Esteban Estrada explains, is the basis of everything.

     "You smell them cooking before you wake up. If you're hungry before bed, they're a great snack. Tortillas are more than a food, they are a ritual in our culture that goes all the way back to the Mayans.

     "And, of course, you can put anything on them. Tortillas are the basis of
everything."

     Including, now, a one-man play: "Tortilla Heaven." Currently touring the
country, it is presented here by the New York-based Vicarious Productions and St. Louis' Ragged Blade Productions and the Tin Ceiling Theatre at the Hispanic Center.

     No members of the Estrada family seem to be involved with any of those
organizations.

     If so, it's the only aspect of the production that doesn't depend on them. "Tortilla Heaven" is truly a family affair.

     Onstage, Jade Estrada portrays seven members of one bilingual family (not unlike the Estradas of San Antonio, Texas). His sister, Celeste Angela Estrada, wrote the script. Their brother, David Miguel Estrada, directs.

     "Tortilla Heaven" marks a change of pace for Jade Estrada, an irreverent and versatile entertainer who regularly appears on Comedy Central and HBO Latino. His other one-man shows, such as the widely traveled "ICONS Vol. 2," are mostly dedicated to the gay and lesbian community.

     But "Tortilla Heaven" deals with family matters - ties that bind, ties that
secure. It centers on three generations of a Tejano family that includes a loving grandmother, a mother dedicated to her career and a little
boy called Charlie.

     Jade Estrada, who portrays all of them and more, dreamed up the idea for the play - which, obviously, speaks to the experience of assimilation that many Americans from different ethnic groups have dealt with, not just Mexican-Americans. He suggested it to his sister because "she's brilliant, and very intellectual. Artistically, I have always come to her. But this is our first actual collaboration."

     Celeste Estrada still makes her home in San Antonio (her brothers live in New York), where she teaches first grade and writes. But although her work is acclaimed - she received the Gertrude Stein Literary Award last year - she'd never written a script before.

     At first, the challenge seemed daunting. "I have always considered myself the pragmatic one - my brothers are much more artistic," she says. "They both act, which to me is most artistic thing of all.

     "But once I started, it seemed as if the play wrote itself. I felt as if I was just reporting what I saw, what I'd seen all my life.

     "And because my brothers are also involved, that added a whole extra level of intimacy. This whole project came straight from the heart."

     As they collaborated, the Estradas kept their eyes on two goals. They wanted to be sure the play was appropriate for audiences of all ages, because they hope that families will feel comfortable enjoying it together. And they wanted to make sure that no theater-goers felt excluded on the basis of language.

     "Tortilla Heaven" swings back and forth between Spanish and English; if you speak either one, you should still be able to follow the story without a problem.

     Celeste Estrada told their grandmother that "Tortilla Heaven" is fundamentally a tribute to her. "She didn't want to hear it," the writer says, "although she thinks the play is funny. I know it makes her laugh."

     Jade Estrada also sees the play as a tribute to their grandmother, and as a grateful acknowledgment of the powerful connections that cross generational lines. "This story is bridge," he says, "and Celeste wrote a wonderful ending for it.

     "Charlie grows up, he's a doctor. And he appreciates how his grandmother, who taught him his culture, and his mother, a highly educated woman, have shaped him. He has that good old-fashioned family base."

     Like a tortilla.

©2005 St. Louis Post-Dispatch