“Tortilla Heaven,” a one-man play written by Celeste Angela Estrada,
directed by David Miguel Estrada, and starring Jade Esteban Estrada will be performed on Friday, September 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Museum of Northern Arizona’s Branigar Hall.
“Tortilla Heaven” is a story of three generations of Mexican-Americans trying to relate to one another and celebrating life, love, and making tortillas the American way—the first generation living a humble life and making home feel more like home, the second generation abandoning their roots in order to assimilate into big city life, and the third generation trying to understand it all without knowing the language of their people.
When generations finally meet, speaking the language seems to be the easy part of a difficult journey of understanding. Eleven-year-old Charlie Ruiz has never met his grandmother or before. His mother, a successful author of such books as Out of the Fuego, into the Fire andEthnically Challenged: Trapped in the Body of a Brown Woman, leaves Charlie with her estranged family for “a short visit” while she goes on tour to promote her English-only books. Charlie is suddenly face-to-face with a whole new language, culture, and family members that are not at all like his mother.
Performer Jade Esteban Estrada is the former choreographer and lead dancer for TV star Charo and a scratch vocalist for the pop group The Back Street Boys. He graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York and has since appeared on HBO Latino, Comedy Central, and PBS and his Latin pop music can be heard on the Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning police drama, “The Shield.” Jade is the oldest brother of the three siblings.
The playwright, Celeste Angela Estrada, attended Williams College and graduated from the University of Texas in Austin. She won the 2004 Gertrude Stein Literary Award for “Tortilla Heaven.” Show Business Weekly calls her “a successful Latina playwright.” This middle sister dedicates her play to her grandmother.
New York-based David Miguel Estrada directs Jade Esteban in the seven character play. He graduated from the College of Sante Fe. His own plays “You Ain’t No Johnny Cash,” “The Yale Diaries,” and “My Burger with Ted” have all enjoyed successful New York runs. His self-written, one-man show “Reflections” was performed at New York’s Lincoln Center in 2004. He is the youngest brother of the three.
”Tortilla Heaven” first debuted in April 2002 at the Creative Place Theatre in New York. It has since enjoyed successful runs at the Pantheon Theatre and Theatre-Studio both in the Theatre District in New York’s Times Square.
Jade Esteban Estrada won the 2004 Audience Favorite Award in Solo Performance. The New York Times calls him, “hilarious.” The Dallas Morning News calls him, “funny and irreverent.”
Judith Newmark of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch calls it “a comedic, deeply felt story of roots and assimilation.”
“Estrada brings Tejano fever to New York City,” raves Gloria I. Ramirez of Noticias del Mundo.
“Tortilla Heaven is my big fat Latino wedding!” says Joey Reynolds of the nationally syndicated radio show “The Joey Reynolds Show” on WOR Radio.
“With lots of humor and humanity, the talented Jade Esteban Estrada performed the roles of uncles, grandmothers, and sons, giving an understanding of the importance of assimilating while at the same time holding on to the Latin culture,” reviewed Sasha Rionda of “Nuestro Rincon” on WKRC-TV in Cincinnati.
Tickets are $5 adult, $2 children 12 and under, and the show is appropriate for all ages. Ticket information is at 928/774-5213.
For more information or to request an interview, please contact Adam Salazar at Vicarious New York at 646/342-8647 or at vicariouspr@aol.com. Visit Jade Esteban Estrada’s website at www.GetJaded.com.
Other “Tortilla Heaven” performances:
Flagstaff, AZ………………Sept 23
San Antonio, TX…………Oct 3
Chicago, IL………………..Oct 27
Milwaukee, WI…………..Oct 29
Lincoln, NE………………..Nov 4
Omaha, NE………………..Nov 5
San Diego, CA……………Nov 25-27