Two years ago, on April 25th, Ksenia Ashrafullina went around Lisbon putting red carnations in exhaust pipes. “I was taking photos, but I felt that the image was missing something captivating.” Maybe one person would make a difference. Then that child appeared, extending his arm to place the flower of the Revolution in the channel from which noise and carbon dioxide normally come out. A few turns, suggestions and touches later, Cravo Bravo was born, the symbol of a change to happen in the way we move around the city.
In addition to being one of the main mobilizers of the Lisboa Possível collective, which fights for priority for pedestrians, bicycles and collective public transport, Ksenia is artistic director and decided to move forward with the Cravo Bravo brand to give visibility to the causes she defends, but also to finance the activism to which it is committed. “The first boy was painted near Praça das Flores, with chalk paint, which is completely washable.” Then, others appeared around the city (some were not even created by Lisboa Possível) – “and even in Madeira” –, requests arrived to paint in a cycle shop in Marvila, in a restaurant in the parish of Misericórdia or even in the living room of a private residence . Until the idea of t-shirts came up. “We have a collection made with second-hand t-shirts from Humana, which is our partner, and we also have new t-shirts and sweatshirts, made from 100% organic cotton, made in a factory in Guimarães, in which we are sure there is no child exploitation. It was very ironic to be making these t-shirts with the image of a boy fighting for freedom in the streets and then we had children making them, wasn’t it?”, satirizes Ksenia, on the phone with Time Out.
“We feel that people identify with the message, because it is transversal and strong. There are people from Germany and France buying our t-shirts. At the same time, it is a way of financing ourselves, because we are an independent collective and we want maintain our financial independence, even so we can say what we don’t consider correct”, explains the Russian activist who has lived in Lisbon for more than ten years. The profits are invested in actions with the aim of “making Lisbon walkable and cycleable”, but the Lisbon Possible struggles “are already taking on a dimension that involves a lot of expense, both in terms of time and legal issues”, she adds. At issue is a complaint that the collective is preparing against the Lisbon City Council, for allegedly prohibiting a demonstration by citizens in public space, considering that the action in question would not be a demonstration. “Now, in addition to the right to mobility, we also want to defend our right to demonstrate”, says Ksenia Ashrafullina.
More than 1000 people want to pedestrianize “os Mastros”
The collective’s biggest fight is for more pedestrian-centric mobility and smooth modes of travel, such as cycling, in other words, a city further removed from the automobile concept. “We define ourselves with four verbs: walk, play, cycle and breathe”, summarizes Ksenia. To this end, they have demanded the pedestrianization of the street and Travessa dos Mastros, in the parish of Misericórdia. The petition collected more than 1000 signatures and was delivered to the Lisbon Municipal Assembly. “We have already had a first hearing. What we asked for will be voted on and then we will have a second hearing in the Assembly. Let’s see”, Ksenia tells Time Out.
The collective’s desire is for the city to be made up of more places where pedestrians and cyclists can circulate without fear or obstacles and where children can play in freedom. In short: less traffic, less space occupied by cars, less speed, less pollution and less engine noise. The collective (and the “harpsichord boy”) also wants to “inspire other people to fight for the same thing, people who sometimes feel strange or strange in the midst of all this because they think they are the only ones who don’t want to ride a car “, says Ksenia. “They are not the only ones and communicating is a way to start organizing ourselves.”
+ Goodbye, plastic cups. Lisbon prohibits the sale of drinks in disposable media
