[OutVoice] Billings, MT: "Estrada Takes Aim at AIDS through Entertaining Education"

[TheChorusBoy at aol.com]

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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