Scene 1 – Getting Way Gay on Comedy Central

     He’s getting famous because of his talent!  Yes, Jade Esteban Estrada is the gay Latin pop singer on Comedy Central, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg!  And what better person than to bring you the rest of the iceberg but a writer by the last name of Snow!  Catch my drift?

     “My music has brought me lots of fame,” explained Jade during our exclusive interview.  “But I think my comedy has also brought me a good amount of spectators.  But if I were to be completely honest with you, I am probably most famous for the fact that I was the first openly gay Latin pop singer in Latin America. I repeat ‘openly.’

     Yes, Jade is not afraid to shake his bon bon—he is a multitalented artist working in a variety of media.  You’ve heard is music on "The Shield" on the FX Network, and seen him on PBS’s "In The Life" and on Comedy Central’s "The Graham Norton Effect."  Jade hosted the Puerto Rican Day Parade Festivities on HBO Latino and "Quintessential…New York" on Voom TV.

     Later this year, we’ll see Jade starring in the independent film "The Bad Singer," which he explains is “a fun film and I’m very excited about the festival release this year."  Jade tours seven solo shows constantly, including "Tortilla Heaven," "ICONS: The Lesbian History of the World, Vol. 1-3," "Transworld! The Transgender History of the World," "Pico de Gallo," and his latest creation, "Gay Christian, Gay Muslim, Gay Jew."

     “I enjoy doing my solo shows because they are very intimate experiences with my audience,” explained Jade.  “It’s a beautiful thing to make connections.  My job for the most part is to make people laugh and you can only do that by finding the truth in a common experience.”

     Jade speaks, as you might guess, Spanish quite frequently, but he spent time in Germany performing in "Starlight Express" and still travels there frequently so he remains fluent in German.  He has also had occasion to speak in French and Japanese, but not recently.  Jade explained that in Germany he had “…some of the best times of my life.  I think the language and the culture had a lot to do with it. It was a part of my journey I wish everyone could experience.  Leaving the United States for a long period of time is a great educational experience as you know.”

Scene 2 – Testosterone and the Latin Community

     I asked Jade, “You grew up in an Army family and the Latin culture—more testosterone than perhaps possible.  How did this influence your coming out process?  Were you in a gay-friendly environment?  If not, what obstacles did you face and how did you overcome them?”

     “I’m glad you asked that,” Jade responded.  “Many Latinos in America don’t like to talk about that part of their lives.  I think it’s an important dialogue.  A little painful for some, but talking about this is necessary in order to move on to the next level of life.”

     “I did not grow up in a very gay-friendly environment at all,” he added.  “As a matter of fact, it was quite a hostile environment (towards gays and women).  I have a few closeted relatives from an older generation who I saw live their ‘real’ lives away from our family, and to this day the memory makes me very sad because I feel I was cheated of getting to know their total person.”

     “I think being—not just an openly gay man—but a well-known one has brought my family a bit of embarrassment,” confided Jade.  “Not all of them, but some.  My face appears regularly in the local press when I have a show and I think they don’t like to talk about it.  That seems a small price to pay when I consider the peace of mind I’ve enjoyed in my young adulthood.  I feel I’ve earned it.”

    “Typically, in a Latino family, we are ‘not allowed’ to be out,” expressed Jade.  “I remember my father and uncle joking about how they were going to beat up gay people if they saw them on the street.  Then they’d laugh as if to be very pleased with themselves.  I kept quiet until I was a man.  But then, I never looked back.  I saw too many other great things in the world to look forward to.  Mainly, I looked forward to my own growth in the most nurturing environment for gay people in the world—New York!  I recommend the place for any young person dealing with internalized homophobia.  It’s like magic.”

     “But while I was still in San Antonio, I overcame my fears by turning my energy to the theatre,” Jade added.  “You see, in the theatre, gay people can learn how to ‘act.’  It was a skill that we needed in our immediate lives.  When I was onstage I felt loved, I felt versatile and I felt powerful because I had a weapon, a means to protect myself.  Becoming what other people wanted me to be makes my current job very easy.”

Scene 3 – Shhhh!  He’s Thirtysomething!

     “You’re not supposed to ask that,” exclaimed Jade at my question of his age, to which he answered, “I’ve seen 31 summers.  My key creative influences include my fans, my grandmother, my sister and my nephew.  They keep me grounded to real life which is what I want to be in tune with when I get on stage in my daily work life.”

     And he was a go-go boy!

     “Oh those were good times! I don’t get asked about that often,” expressed Jade.  “I used to be a go-go boy in New York and in Washington D. C.  It was a liberating experience.  I think it’s something everyone should try even if it’s just for one night.  I believe that having a healthy life consists of balancing all the different parts of one’s being.  Being serious, being spiritual, being creative, being responsible, being playful and by all means, being sexy.  I think every republican in congress should try it once.”

     “In your work and life,” I expressed to Jade, “you seem to be very integrated in terms of embracing both your masculinity and your femininity as a human.  To what to you attribute this?”

    “No one has ever told me that before, Jade responded.  “I suppose if I were to think about it, which I don’t do often, I don’t act when I’m performing.  I become the energy and color that I use my body, mind and voice to emulate.  There is not a trace of me there, yet it’s every part of me.  There is not an exact science to performance.  I had an acting teacher once tell me, ‘when you perform, you must close your eyes so that you can see.’  I think of that when I’m onstage.”

     “That reminds me of a time I had a guy I was seeing who’d never seen my work,” explained Jade.  “He came to see me in Richmond and after the show he told me, ‘I don’t feel I know who you are anymore.’  He said he never once saw the Jade he knew onstage.  I will never forget that.  As far as embracing that in life, I’m just me.”

     Is he in a romance?

     “I’m always in a romance,” responded Jade.  “For me romance has many faces, a person, a city, a new show, an audience, my fans are the best in the world.  I love that they stay and talk to me after the show.  That really means a lot to me.  My boyfriends feel they don’t know me after the show but my fans feel they do.  I love it.  Life is funny that way.”

     “How have my professional pursuits enhanced or hampered my romantic life? Well,” explained Jade, “enhanced because I meet so many new people in a day.  In that one day, I meet so many people.  And because I normally am in a talkative mood—I refuse to let my professional life take over my social life—I will meet new people and often befriend them.  Hampered?  Well, I guess I’m not always around my home cities so I’m not the most present person in the world.  But you can always hit me on MySpace.  It seems another small price to pay.  I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have this kind of life.  I’m not about to complain.”

Scene 4 – Colonel Jade and What’s Next!

     On the honors of which he is most proud, Jade explained, “Oh, by far being awarded the title of Kentucky Colonel by Governor Ernie Fletcher in Kentucky.  When I found out that Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Mae West, and Pope John Paul II had also been awarded this title I was honored.”

     “I also have to say that one of the awards that meant the most to me recently was winning Best Original Music for my solo show "ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 3" at the 2006 Columbus National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival,” he added.  “The song I wrote for Mary Cheney in the show ‘Post-Gay Republican’ got special notice and to me as a composer—that meant so much.  I’ve gotten a lot of awards.  But to me, that one humbled me and made me grateful for the things I can do.  It made me want to continue to share my work.”

     “My new movie "The Bad Singer" is opening this year!  I’m very excited about that,” Jade explained.  “I play Chase Nixon Chavez, an out-of-work actor who gets a role an independent film in Texas.  It’s a complete disaster but a brilliant adventure takes place in his life.  I’ve had a great time working on the film.  I’m very eager to do another.  I co-wrote the film with Theadora Grey.

     This year, Jade explained, “I want to meet as many of my fans as possible and to visit as many places as possible.  I mean, we’re all going to die one day.  Why not make our lives extraordinary?  I want to do another film and I want to hear my baby nephew finally say Uncle Jade.  I’m going to Mexico City and Moscow this year.  I want to be a tourist after the show!  I never do that!”

     Do you want to add anything, Jade?

    ”Yes, I want everyone to know that happiness is simply a matter of saying ‘yes’ to the things they want in life,” concluded.  “The rest really doesn’t matter.”

     That’s a wrap!

     This Just In...

     As to what's next, according to sources, "Jade will be busy touring this summer the farewell tour of "ICONS" with a heavy tour schedule around the country until November.  Moving onto other projects, Jade wants to go out with a big bang!"

    Sources continued, "During Hispanic Heritage Month he will tour a different city every day from September 15-October 15.  You can also catch him in the upcoming short film "The Blue Note" directed by Adam Rendon."

 

©2007 Notes from Hollywood