A surrealist comedy about dignity.
In a bucolic and parched town called Riocochino, devastated by the closure of the mine, a handful of souls survive under the fiery sun as they stare straight into the face of poverty. Curro and his son, a border-line moron, will create a fake gold rush, in hopes of attracting tourism to the town and, therefore, keep their hotel business from bankruptcy. What could possibly go wrong?
Meanwhile, the beautiful and pure 18-year-old Pepita, desired by all, is keeping busy as the village tour guide. Pepita must put up with the lustful village priest whose ambition is to relieve her from sin by taking her into his bed. She must also look out for Anastasio, the tycoon of the village, owner of a big farm with pigs, and a total swine himself. He courts her constantly… and, to her dismay, he has the support of Curro, Pepita’s father. Curro is a poor soul who is willing to avoid bankruptcy at any cost, even if it means giving his precious daughter away in an arranged marriage.
Curro, with the help of his son Tarugo, runs the only inn of the village, but the sudden drop of tourism sends the family business into doom. And as if the situation couldn’t get any worse, Pepita is not too keen on the idea of the arranged marriage that her father is pushing for. In the middle of this commotion, a handsome cowboy shows up in the village. No bullets in sight, as the only thing in his tight holsters are test tubes. Speculations are open: Is he an environmental activist? Is he a scientist willing to discover the origin of life on Earth with samples from the river? Who knows, he might also be the one to steal Pepita´s heart… or vice versa. However, the verdict leans towards love from both ends; after all, he is a Spanish speaking, Lavapies native, American cowboy – sex appeal truly in abundance.
The adventure has just begun because Curro and his son come up with a brilliant idea to spread the fake rumor about copious amounts of gold in the region. Blinded by the idea of gold beyond their wildest dreams, this scam will call the attention of all the hustlers willing to spend their money at Curro´s inn.
In the middle of all this chaos, and appalled by her father’s scam, Pepita arises as a memorable feminist and ecologist heroine, whose goal is to put the order in the lives of all these crazy men: a swine tycoon, a cowboy searching for the origins of life as we know it, an avaricious priest, a man looking for the treasure of his ancestors… Each and everyone a victim of greed and necessity. The conclusive message is that the only true treasure in this land is Pepita’s love, a woman whose value is priceless.
A wild story where nothing is off limits if it means satisfying hunger, whether it be for a carnal or material appetite. Pepita is halfway between Berlanga´s caustic films and Monty Python´s incisive wit. It is a story that is inspired by traditional picaresque and points a finger towards our own conventions, vices and virtues.
RELEVANT DATA: Pepita is Pablo Carbonell’s literature debut. He is well known for his singing and acting career, and especially his comedy, and the unforgettable characters that sky-rocketed him to fame thanks to famous TV shows like La bola de cristal. He has worked with stars such as El Gran Wyoming in several TV programs like La noche se mueve, El peor programa de la semana or the popular Caiga quien caiga, in which he interviews politicians and famous people on the streets. He juggled both of his careers as TV host and actor.
He has worked as a scriptwriter and filmmaker in movies such as Atún y chocolate, for which he was nominated for the Goya Awards in the Best New Actor category. He was also awarded the Best Actor Award in the Malaga Film Festival for this movie.
What the critics have said:
“Talent, narrative intuition and incandescence makes Pepita one of a kind. An extraordinary book.” David Trueba
“Pepita is a journey between surrealist humor and human dignity. A story about greed and romanticism in the rural setting of a village on the brink of bankruptcy after the closing of the mining industry.” Qué Leer
“That light-hearted humor is one of the main features of this novel, that wins you over and over again, via ridiculous and peculiar characters.” Literaturamasuno
“The dialogues are genius and the scenes are hilarious. They are what guide the book, through laughter, of dark but intelligent humor. It lies somewhere between Berlanga´s caustic films and Monty Python´s incisive wit“ Todoliteratura.es
AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: TV series, Miniseries, Film, TV Movie.
LANGUAGES AVAILABLE: Spanish.
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