"First gay Latin
star" honored in Kentucky

Kentucky governor Ernie Fletcher recently paid tribute to Latin comedian and singer Jade Esteban Estrada by commissioning him the title of "Kentucky Colonel ," the highest honor awarded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which acknowledges outstanding ambassadors of goodwill and fellowship around the world. The San Antonio native began his entertainment career as a scratch vocalist for the Backstreet Boys and as choreographer to television personality Charo. He has been seen on Comedy Central's The Graham Norton Effect, In the Life on PBS, and his Latin dance music can be heard on the Golden Globe- and Emmy award-winning police drama The Shield. Out magazine calls him "the first gay Latin star." In September he debuted his solo musical ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 3, which won the award for Best Solo Performance and Best Original Music at the Columbus National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival for his portrayal of Mary Cheney, the out lesbian of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. Estrada joins other honorary colonels such as Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Bob Hope, Joan Crawford, Mae West, Johnny Depp, Muhammad Ali, and Pope John Paul II. ( The Advocate )