Hebert Poll Gutiérrez

'Yoka's Flower' Synopsis:
Shango, the god of thunder and music, desperately seeks a gift for Oshun, his beloved. He must hurry. The queen of gourds, rivers, and love doesn't have only one suitor. There is only one solution left. It doesn't matter if others suffer. Gaining Oshun's heart is worth it.

Credits for Yoka's Flower:
Directed by: Hebert Poll Gutiérrez
General Producer: Rodolfo Ortega Arnaiz
Storyteller: Marconio Vázquez (Mexico)
Production Company: Imaginante S.C (Mexico)
The play is based on the short tale Yoka Flower, which belongs to the book "Emi laara: little stories to Dream" written by Hebert Poll Gutiérrez and his mother, Gladys Felicia Gutiérrez.
This work was published by the Cuban publishing house Matanzas in 2004.

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).