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THE PARPLAYS ARE BACK! MAKE WAY FOR THE PARPLAYS!
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An Interview with Katti Sta. Ana
 Katti Sta. Ana is the founder of The Firefly Brigade. She is not only a bicycle commuter and enthusiast, having biked across the U.S.A. for two months, but is also an award winning artist, having won the CCP's Thirteen Artists Award in 2000. She has written and illustrated a children's book titled “Bully Big Pig” and has illustrated several children's books. Katti is also a member of Ang INK, a group of artists who illustrate for children. Wonder what this Queen of the Parplay's will come up with next?
Magozine: Where did you get the idea for a Firefly Brigade?
Katti : The idea came from the masamang loob I felt about everything that was happening to our country. I prayed and cried to God. Then I got this whole idea of saving the environment. I was “possessed” by the idea of a grand environmental event that included a mass bike ride. You know how some ideas just die? Well, this one continued to bug me. I eventually met Mon Fernan who set up Cycad (Cycling Advocates) and he liked my ideas. Aina Zulueta of the Inquirer happened to call out of the blues and I told her too about my ideas. She was instrumental in getting Inquirer to help with publicity. Then, Mon and I attended a Mother Earth meeting where several NGO's were organizing Earth Day activities and we just joined in.
Magozine: Where did you get the name The Firefly Brigade?
Katti : Lori Tan, publisher of Bookmark suggested the name firefly. “When was the last time you saw fireflies?” he asked. Fireflies leave an area when it becomes too polluted. Mon picked it up and suggested we call the group The Firefly Brigade and then added that we call the fun ride the “Tour of the Fireflies”.
Magozine: How can The Firefly Brigade stop air pollution?
Katti : The Firefly Brigade is for “sustainable transportation”. This means that we want government to put money into public transportation. All the government does is widen the roads or build new bridges. But only 20% of our population can afford cars. The private bus companies are only after profits. That's one of the reasons buses never come on time. They have to wait until they are full. Or the drivers are reckless because they have to make a certain number of trips to make money for the company. For every bus that you fill with about 50 people, that's only one “tambucho”. If we all rode buses, there would be less pollution from transportation. And of course, there's the bike. It doesn't emit any fumes and 16 bicycles are equivalent to 1 car space.
Magozine: How can kids become parplays? (Specially if they cannot ride their bikes on the highway!)
Katti : (Laughing delightedly.) Kids can start by forming their own group of cyclists in their villages or neighborhood. Then they can ask the homeowners association to install humps on their streets to calm the traffic or to ensure that the vehicles entering the village are not smoke belchers. They can also encourage their parents to bike and join The Firefly Brigade!
Magozine: Tell us about your experience as Queen of the Parplays?
TUTU
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This is a skirt ballerinas wear.
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Katti : Let me tell you nalang about my costumes. For the first tour in 1999, I borrowed a black tutu and my Mom pasted leaves on it. Then she sewed a wig onto my helmet and attached bougainvilleas to it. The second year, I looked like a middle-eastern parplay. I had a green tube blouse, and green
DIAPHANOUS
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This means its transparent.
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diaphanous shorts made from a scarf. This year, as Queen of the Parplays, I had the same green scarf looped around my helmet and a cool cycling outfit. I also had wings! My wings were made from wire and stockings and hung with all sorts of little things. This is what's really great about The Firefly Brigade. It's fun and creative! We want to appeal to citizens who would ordinarily not ride a bike.
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LESSONS.PH
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