[OutVoice] Billings, MT: "Estrada Takes Aim at AIDS through Entertaining Education"
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Sat Mar 8 01:49:29 CST 2008
Billings Gazette
ESTRADA TAKES AIM AT AIDS THROUGH ENTERTAINING EDUCATION
By CATHY ULRICH
March 7, 2008
Photo by FADELA CASTRO
Read it online:
_http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/03/07/entertainment/enjoy/21-estrada
.txt_
(http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/03/07/entertainment/enjoy/21-estrada.txt)
One-man whirlwind Jade Esteban Estrada hasn't been to Billings since 2000,
when he performed at the Miss Montana USA Pageant.
The gay-rights activist is looking forward to his return today for a one-man
show, "A Lullaby for Ryan: The History of HIV/AIDS in America," at Venture
Theatre.
"I love Billings," Estrada said. "I have only been there in September, so
I'm going at a different time of year. I remember being very enchanted with the
whole area, it being very beautiful, and looking forward to coming back."
Estrada, a multitalented performer and former member of the hip-hop trio The
Model Citizens, won't be singing his Latin pop hits this time, although he
will be singing.
"I'm a musical theater person, so a large majority of my one-person shows
are based on music," he said. "This is one of those shows that really needed
music, so I wrote a lot of music for it."
The song he considers the strongest is "May I Have Your Attention?" He sings
the song while portraying the now-deceased actor Rock Hudson announcing to
the world that he had AIDS.
"For him, it was doing something different for the world than what he had
been doing," Estrada said. "He was well aware that he would not be around for
long, so he wanted to do something good."
Estrada is doing more than good. Proceeds from the show benefit the
Yellowstone AIDS Project, a not-for-profit organization that offers HIV testing,
community outreach, emergency support, housing assistance and other services to
Montanans living with HIV/AIDS.
"I feel good about making this contribution because this is what I do: I'm a
comedian and I care about these issues," he said. "As a human-rights
activist, this was an area I wanted to talk about. We're not done fighting this yet."
"A Lullaby for Ryan" is an educational piece, chronicling the last quarter
century of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. But don't be put off by the word
"educational."
"The style of my show is ... it's a show," Estrada said. "Like what you
would see on "Saturday Night Live." You walk out of the theatre and you go, 'Oh
my God, I just learned something.' "
One of the things Estrada hopes his audience will learn is courage.
"I want to give a disease, any disease, a voice," he said. "People are
scared of things they don't understand. You can dismantle the power something has
by giving it a voice.
"The only thing a disease, any disease, wants to do is survive. That's all
it wants to do. That's the only thing HIV and AIDS thinks about."
Estrada, who lost his best friend to AIDS in 1997, loves having the
opportunity to educate and help others, especially in smaller communities like
Billings.
"Sometimes things like this are needed more in rural areas because people
don't have access to this sort of show," he said. "A lot of people fall into
the trap of getting an STD because they just don't know how to protect
themselves."
Estrada has performed all over the United States and, is, in fact, fluent in
five languages from his travels overseas. He speaks English, Spanish,
French, German and Japanese. The comedian-activist likens his experience with
languages to facing things like HIV and AIDS.
"If you're just thrown into Japanese, all of a sudden, Arabic sounds easy,"
he said. "I'm talking about some very heavy subjects, but if you experience
that, all the other problems seem minuscule. I like to think that my message
is that resolution is always sitting right next to you."
That message keeps Estrada touring.
"I made the comment to my grandmother: I hate traveling," he said. "But the
thing is, I love what I'm doing so much, I can't just be in one city to do
it. What I've chosen to do is something I think the world needs. I'm a person
who listens to where my heart says to go."
His heart is usually right, even if it takes him to places like Norfolk, NE,
with a dressing room the size of a broom closet. But the trip was made
worthwhile when he performed and later received a copy of a poster advertising his
show that had been signed by a group of high school students with personal
notes thanking him for his work.
"When I go onstage and I do my thing and I'm making that connection, it
feels worth it," Estrada said. "Sometimes there are added rewards, whether it be
a handshake or a hug or a whisper in my ear because they feel close to me
because of that connection. Some people have said 'Thank you for your courage.' "
Estrada has no plans to give up the performing lifestyle.
"It's a calling," he said. "It's what I do. My work is not just for a
paycheck. It's not based on any sort of ambition. I believe I've come into this
world at a time when I can help my culture. Until there's equality, I won't stop
doing these shows."
_www.getjaded.com_ (http://www.getjaded.com/)
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