After a strange turbulence, a man wakes up in a world identical to his… except for one bizarre detail: chicken has never existed, and everyone eats “venco” instead. A bold and entertaining dark comedy from bestselling author Félix J. Palma.
Returning from a marathon of conferences in Boston—and still queasy from a bout of turbulence on the plane that could make history—Ernesto only wants to collapse on the couch and forget the world. But waiting in his fridge is a surprise from Berta, his charming and ever-thoughtful neighbor: the perfect recipe to win over Mónica at their romantic dinner the next evening. What should have been a simple chicken dish… has mysteriously turned into “venco a la molinera.”
Intrigued, he heads to the supermarket and discovers that venco is a bird with blue feathers and orange plumage that everyone seems to know—except him. Amused yet challenged, he decides to take the risk and cook it exactly as Berta suggested. The dinner with Mónica begins promisingly, until she drops the bomb: she doesn’t know what chicken is. Her comment opens an absurd but insurmountable rift in the evening. Ernesto begins to suspect that something is very, very wrong.
The confirmation comes with his encyclopedia: chicken does not exist. It never has. In its place, venco reigns supreme. The only logical explanation—or close enough—points to the strange turbulence on the flight, which may have thrown him into a parallel reality. With his heart pounding, Ernesto goes out to explore and confirms that everything, from menus to billboards, revolves around venco.
His obsession escalates: Ernesto drives aimlessly to a farm, stands before a pen full of real vencos, and in a fit, begins killing them. The farmer chases him away with gunshots. He returns to the city, feathers still clinging to his jacket, with one clear thought: he will not give up.
At dawn, he places an ad in the newspaper calling for “chicken lovers” to share recipes and comfort. He imagines other passengers from the flight, equally lost, reuniting to form a secret brotherhood devoted to keeping alive the memory of a species that, in his world, was as common as air.
But back home, even Berta—his emotional anchor—seems to belong fully to this impostor world. Sitting beside the phone, he stares at a strange ornament he doesn’t remember buying and wonders: if chicken has vanished without a trace, what else might have disappeared?
RELEVANT INFORMATION: Félix J. Palma is a Spanish short story writer and novelist, winner of the Ignotus Award for Best Novel, the Luis Berenguer Prize, and the Ateneo de Sevilla Prize, among others.
Venco a la molinera is a story that blends dark comedy with elements of science fiction and social satire, where an everyday item becomes the trigger for an existential crisis and a narrative of parallel realities. It stands out for the contrast between the domestic and the absurd, and for the irony, obsession, and romanticism of its protagonist. A fast-paced and humorous story, with a paranoid atmosphere halfway between the funny and the unsettling, offering infinite possibilities for development.
The story has strong audiovisual potential thanks to its sharp premise and irreverent tone, in the vein of The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror with a comic twist.
AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: TV Series, Miniseries, Feature Film, TV Film.
AVAILABLE LANGUAGES: Spanish.
Adquirir los derechos
Para ponerte en contacto con nosotros completa el siguiente formulario y te responderemos en breve.
Error: Contact form not found.
