Florida State Capital Names Estrada 'Entertainer of the Year'

New York, NY (PRWEB) October 27, 2006 -- Comedy Central star Jade Esteban Estrada received the award for 2006 Entertainer of the Year at the Family Tree Rainbow Awards held October 12, 2006 at the Paradigm in downtown Tallahassee, Florida.

Estrada has performed in St. Petersburg, Tallahassee, St. Augustine and Miami in the past year as a stand-up comic and as a solo theatre artist. He formally served as a choreographer for Latin diva Charo and as a scratch vocalist for the Back Street Boys.

"Jade has become a member of our family here in Florida. It is an honor to fight for equality with such a fine artist and an outstanding American," stated Jim Van Riper of the Family Tree in Tallahassee. Katie Schardl of the Tallahassee Democrat calls Estrada "absolutely fabulous." County Commissioners Rob Rackleff and Cliff Thaell were in attendance for the tribute.

The star best known for his TV appearances on The Graham Norton Effect has recently been hailed for his portrayal of famous characters in lesbian, gay and transgender history. Adam Shapiro of the Bowling Green News calls him "one of today's best solo entertainers."

"I've been a huge fan of Jade's for a long time. His stage work is amazing," states Jack E. Jett of the weekly talk show The Queer Edge. Out Magazine calls him "the first gay Latin star" and The Advocate calls him "exquisite." Florida's Watermark calls him "fascinating."

Estrada received the 2004 Audience Favorite Award in Solo Performance at the Columbus National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival for the show ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 2. He also received the 2005 Performance Artist of the Year recognition at the Pride in the Arts Awards. Last month, the festival awarded him the 2006 awards for Best Solo Performance and Best Original Music for his latest show ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 3 where he portrays Mary Cheney and Greg Louganis among others.

He was awarded the 2002 Premio Estrella from LLEGO at the 9th Annual Encuentro Awards in Miami for outstanding achievement and accomplishment in the entertainment industry as an openly gay Latino.

In 2002, the versatile entertainer lent his voice to the Being Out Rocks Compilation CD which featured songs by kd lang, Cyndi Lauper, Taylor Dayne, Rufus Wainwright, Ani DiFranco, Sarah, McLachlan, the B-52s and other stars of the music industry now featured on LOGO.

Estrada's next show Pico de Gallo debuts at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington on November 11th.

For more information log onto: www.getjaded.com.

Press contact:
Greta Golding
646-342-8647

###