Hens have taken control of the city. The rain has joined forces with the snails.
Penguins have invaded the beaches.
The world has turned upside down; or at least, that is how Garbi the cat sees it. And as if that were not enough, she herself, the self-styled queen of the night, somehow seems to have become friends with Busti the dog. Through their differences and debates, Garbi and Busti offer an ironic interpretation of the world of humans (who are so strange, as if a cat and dog double act were an everyday occurrence!).
Stories of families, children and the world in general
unfold through their conversations. One mother believes the rain must be cut. Another thinks her daughter is old enough now to leave childish whims behind—such as, for example, her fervent wish to become a fire-fighter. Iholdi, Nora, Garazi, June—four teenage friends trying to make our overly rational world just a little bit more human. Defenders of Martin, who is not like other people. Environmentalists fighting against pesticides. Showing solidarity with Teandra and Luisinho in a fire someone started on purpose. This secret life, of which their parents are blissfully unaware, turns these four girls into critical, active citizens. Their message? The world could be a much better place than it is. A paraglider could lift up that abandoned caravel from the old wharf and carry it off to the place where utopias are born. Humour, a critical gaze and intrigue combine in a story of solidarity. A story full of stories, that unfolds among humans and animals, oscillating between tension and liberation.
Busti
Busti is Garazi’s dog. He loves nothing better than to dive into every well, stream or, in general, anything with water in it.
Even public fountains. Despite this, though, he is generally rather grubby (apparently, that’s just how dogs are). Garbi, the queen of the night, tries every trick in the book to ‘civilise’ him. An undertaking doomed to failure. And she refuses to admit that she's fallen in love with a filthy dog.
Teandra
Teandra is a large woman. A strong woman. She is the only one who understands Luisinho. And the only one who tries to dispel Lulú’s sadness. She is black, very black. And somewhat rude to other women. But more than anything, she has a big heart.
Garazi
Garazi loves a good storm. She experiences the world in her own way and is delighted whenever the weather is ‘bad’. Her mother believes you have to cut the rain’s throat. Yup, that is right. But Garazi is convinced that her parents have no idea what a water festival is, they do not know how to dance under a downpour, or get their feet wet by splashing through puddles.
Her dog is called Busti—and he’s a right rascal. Garazi and Busti ‘aren’t right in the head’.
Garbi
Her elegance unrivalled, she struts across the rooftops as if she were the queen of the night. She leaps like a tiger from balcony to balcony. She's very clean, but she never goes near water (apparently, that's just how cats are). One night, almost without realising it, Garbi strikes up a conversation with a dog. Her life will never be the same again.
Luisinho
Luisinho is a little man who earns a living doing this and that.
He is friends with the girls, but he is even closer to Teandra. A somewhat odd duo, but it works. Could it really be true that they fled the Amazon on that abandoned boat by the quay.
June
June lives in ‘freak city’. Or at least, that is what she calls the apartment block where she lives. That bald man who wears a yellow wig. That young bloke on the top floor who makes croissants every night. Her friend Alazne who always has her cage open. Her grandma who does nothing all day but sew.
Little by little, June begins to doubt what is normal. ‘If everything and everyone I see seems odd to me,
perhaps it’s me who’s strange...?’
Marko
Marko is a little penguin. Ever since his little brother was born, he has felt left out. A sea lion once told him that a mother's heart does not have room to love two penguins. So Marco ran away from Antarctica to Europe, angrily telling anyone who will listen ‘My mother doesn't love me.’ And all because
his mother now sings to little Lucas the song that used to be his, and his alone.
Mokotxiki
What’s that bird doing amongst all the hippos? Good question! As hard as he tries, Mokotxiki can’t seem to roar like a hippopotamus, so he decides to return to a place where there aren’t any. Now he just needs to find someone who understands his feeble song. Even if it is inside a cage!
Martín
Martín snorts up pieces of strawberry through his nose, invents new galaxies on the blackboard and fills the walls with beautiful drawings. Yes, Martín is definitely one of a kind.
And as such, for some girls at least, he is infinitely more interesting
than the other boys—something that the cool kids at school have a very hard time understanding.
Lulú
Lulú is not popular with the other hens. They scold her for eating corn like them, even though she does not work. But that’s just Lulú: a hen who loses her colour and does not lay eggs. Thankfully, Teandra protects her. Her feathers regain their colour and, quite unexpectedly, she has started getting broody. But it is not an egg she is sitting on.
Nora
Nora has an uncle in New York. It was he who bought her that toy, the one she likes to take out with her sometimes. Because Nora wants to be a fire-fighter. Her mother is at her wits’ end; she thinks it is just a childhood whim. Well, that is what she says, but deep down, what Nora’s mum really wants is for her to become an engineer or a paediatrician.
But Nora is not to be persuaded. She is anything but whimsical. And at the ripe old age of thirteen, she is convinced that her parents ‘haven’t got the faintest clue!’.
Migeltxo
Migeltxo is a little boy aged somewhere between three and four. He is Ihodi’s little brother. He has very sharp hearing and remembers everything that is said within earshot. He loves to join in
adult conversations. And he makes up words. Just like Busti, his favourite pastime is getting dirty in muddy puddles. And he adores catching worms.
GALLERY
