OBATALÁ (SCULPTURE OF HUMANKIND)

In ¡Bienvenidos Blancos! capítulo 2, we meet Obatalá. As seen in this gallery, Obatalá can take feminine or masculine form. We’ll use the same pronouns as our actor, Jorge. 

Obatalá is the Orisha credited with creating the earth and sculpting humankind. Some popular Patakí about Obatalá include explaining how the earth took shape, how he founded the first Yoruba city (Ife), why he is called the “owner of all heads” and how Obatalá saved humans from destruction when the Orisha Yemayá got angry.

In the patakí shared during the play, Iku is the one who becomes very angry with Obatalá.

Read more about Obatalá, or better yet, meet Obatalá through music and dance. And if you’re curious about the connection between Obatalá and Fidel Castro, there’s this too.