Hebert Poll Gutiérrez

'The Great Race' Synopsis:
Awa the duck and Akiko the rooster don't get along. Their silly feathered fight has lasted too long, affecting all the animals, of the forest, the Ibo Findo. They only have one solution left...
The protagonists of this story are animals with afro-descendant names. Expecting what must happen, it’s necessary to ask for help from the Afro-Cuban gods. Between fights and a bit of love, time passes until the day of the Great Race.

Credits for The Great Race:
Written by : Hebert Poll Gutiérrez
Directed by: Mark Henderson
Actors: Brennan Campbell, Tatiana Duque, Mark Henderson, Amanda Samuelson
Published by Publishing House El Abra, Cuba, 2017.
Music:
Lazaro Ross and Olorum Folkloric Group, Cuba
Folkloric Group Afrocuba from Matanzas, Cuba.

Acknowledgements:
To my mother Gladys Felicia Gutiérrez Rodriguez. From Alem (the world beyond time), her spirit tells me endlessly:
Our gods are not perfect
They have spots like the sun
But they will teach you how to be: wise, strong, and noble.

I am a Cuban Canadian artist with 16 years of experience trying to connect with the world through art. I believe in the power of stories, in the power of the art to shape realities. Art is and will be my strategy to defend my triple cultural identity: My identity as an artist, as a Cuban, and as an Afro-descendant. I have published 10 books. My last published book is: Whispers from the black Gods (Poetry) The Elite Lizzard Publishing Company, Canada, 2022.

Some of my writings also appear in magazines and in more than 20 anthologies from Cuba, Venezuela, Canada, Spain, the United States, Mexico, Germany, and other countries. My theatre scripts have been represented by companies from Latin America, Europe, and Canada.

I am a member of several cultural organizations. Among them are:
-SpanicArts, Calgary.
-Playwrights Guild of Canada
-FAVA (Film and Video Arts Society Alberta)
-Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society (AMAAS).

I was named Calgary’s Artist of the Month of December 2021. The recognition was awarded by the Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI).