Articles

Estudios Fronterizos, vol. 26, 2025, e166

https://doi.org/10.21670/ref.2508166

The narrative identity dimension in transnational migrations: the Brazilian case in Santiago, Chile

La dimensión identitaria narrativa en la migración transnacional: el caso brasileño en Santiago, Chile

Ariany da Silva Villar^{a *} https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5275-9033
Dariela Sharim^b https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8926-3349

^a Universidad Central de Chile, Instituto de Investigación y Doctorados, Facultad de Derecho y Humanidades, Santiago, Chile, e-mail: ariany.villar.psico@gmail.com

^b Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Escuela de Psicología, Santiago, Chile, e-mail: dsharim@uc.cl

^* Corresponding author: Ariany da Silva Villar. E-mail: ariany.villar.psico@gmail.com

Received on June 7, 2024.
Accepted on April 30, 2025.
Published on May 15, 2025.

CITATION: Da Silva Villar, A. & Sharim, D. (2025). The narrative identity dimension in transnational migrations: the Brazilian case in Santiago, Chile. Estudios Fronterizos, 26, Article e166. https://doi.org/10.21670/ref.2508166

Abstract:
This study analyzes the narrative identity dimension related to transnational migration through the case of Brazilian migrants in Santiago, Chile. Using a phenomenological-hermeneutic research approach, we collected life stories, conducted in-depth interviews and utilized photovoice with Brazilians who have been living in the Chilean capital for at least one year. The data were collected in 2018 and 2019 and were analyzed using thematic content analysis with the help of MaxQDA 2020 software. Our findings reveal that the recognition and welcome of “Brazilianness” in Chile provide these migrants with a distinct advantage over other migrants in the receiving society in the labor, social and interpersonal spheres. This condition, paired with everyday transnational experiences, contributed to constructing an expanded narrative of self for the participants. We interpret that this subjective expansion has configured as an interstitial space that favors the emergence of culturally hybrid narrative identities that challenge the centrality of national identities in personal narratives.
Keywords: narrative identity, recognition, transnational migration.

Resumen:
El objetivo es analizar la dimensión de las identidades narrativas relacionadas con la migración transnacional de casos de migrantes brasileños/as en Santiago, Chile. Con enfoque fenomenológico-hermenéutico se recopilaron relatos de vida, entrevistas en profundidad y photovoice con brasileños/as resididos en la capital chilena por al menos un año. Con la ayuda del MaxODA 2020 se hizo análisis de contenido temático de la información recopilada en 2018 y 2019. Los resultados revelan que el reconocimiento y acogida de la “brasilidad” en Chile proporciona a las/los brasileños distintas ventajas sobre otros/as migrantes en la sociedad receptora en los ámbitos laborales, sociales e interpersonales. Esta condición, junto con las experiencias transnacionales cotidianas, contribuyeron a la construcción de un relato ampliado de sí mismo para las/los participantes. Se interpreta que dicha expansión subjetiva configuró un espacio intersticial favorable para la emergencia de identidades narrativas culturalmente híbridas que cuestionan la centralidad de las identidades nacionales para las narrativas personales.
Palabras clave: identidad narrativa, reconocimiento, migración transnacional.

Introduction

In recent decades, migration flows to Chile have intensified, particularly toward Santiago,¹ the Chilean capital (Ivanova et al., 2022; Landeros Jaime, 2020; Soto-Alvarado, 2020). As of December 31st, 2023, Chile recorded a total of 1 918 583 immigrants with 1 089 049 (56.8%) residing in the capital (Departamento de Estadísticas Demográficas y Sociales, 2024). Most migrants living in Santiago are from other Latin American and Caribbean countries, with notable populations from Venezuela (40.3%), Peru (17.5%), Haiti (10.7%), Bolivia (10.5%), Colombia (10.2%) and Argentina (3.7%), among others (Departamento de Estadísticas Demográficas y Sociales, 2024).

This phenomenon has generated a complex transcultural context. Chileans tend to value European and North American migrants, a legacy of colonial relations that lasted until the late nineteenth century. In contrast, they devalue Afro-descendant, Indigenous and Andean groups, particularly those from lower socioeconomic strata, as is the case of many Latin American and Caribbean migrants (Gissi-Barbieri & Ghio-Suárez, 2017; López Mendoza, 2017; Sirlopú et al., 2015; Sirlopú & Van Oudenhoven, 2013; Tijoux, 2016). Moreover, the “Latino”² immigrant is socially portrayed as an “other”, perceived as a threat to the Chilean nation across various dimensions of social life (Dammert & Erlandsen, 2020; Gissi-Barbieri & Ghio-Suárez, 2017; Liberona Concha, 2012; López Mendoza, 2017; Vásquez et al., 2021).

In Chile, the media has constructed a pervasive image of Latin American foreigners that links them to criminality (Dammert & Erlandsen, 2020), vulnerability, poverty, illegal status, infectious disease (Díaz Gallardo & Sabatini Ugarte, 2020) and dependance on government resources (Ivanova et al., 2022). Several studies describe the harassment, racism and xenophobia experienced by Latino/as and Caribbean migrants in Santiago, particularly those who are non-White (Ambiado Cortes et al., 2022; Bustamante Cifuentes, 2017; Gissi et al., 2019; Gissi-Barbieri & Polo Alvis, 2020; Madriaga Parra, 2020; Mercado-Órdenes & Figueiredo, 2023). The aforementioned perception of foreigners as a threat contributes to the negative attitudes towards them within local society (González et al., 2010; Mercado-Órdenes & Figueiredo, 2023; Sirlopú & Van-Oudenhoven, 2013). In recent years, this perception has evolved into a generalized fear, particularly targeting Venezuelans, Haitians and Colombians, who are often associated with rising crime rates in the country (Gissi & Aguilar, 2023).

In interpersonal relationships, migrants have reported that locals often misunderstand them and treat them with distance, even when foreigners speak the same language as Chileans (Gissi et al., 2019). Although friendly relationships can help mitigate prejudice on the part of Chileans (González et al., 2010), foreigners often find themselves caught between their own culture and that of Chile (Márquez & Correa, 2015) in their daily interactions, even after having lived in Santiago for many years (Stefoni & Bonhomme, 2014; Tijoux & Retamales, 2015). Chileans struggle to engage with the “other” because the Chilean national identity is deeply rooted in a myth of cultural homogeneity, which leads to a lack of recognition of the plurality of its composition (for example Native peoples and immigrants from different historical moments, among others)³ (Agar Corbinos, 2015; Thayer Correa & Tijoux Merino, 2022). This situation “entails a marked inclination to make differences invisible” (Agar Corbinos, 2015, p. 53) or even actively erase them.

In this context, Brazilian immigration serves as a privileged lens through which to observe processes of subjective identity formation within the transnational⁴ experience, primarily because these processes are nourished by encounters with otherness (Ricoeur, 2006). Firstly, Brazilians are differentiated from the local population and other South American migrant collectives by their mother tongue: Portuguese. Brazil has inherited the Portuguese tradition of differentiating itself culturally from Spain and, consequently, Brazil sets itself apart from Spanish-speaking countries, namely most Latin American countries, and their colonial histories (Margolis, 2008). Notably in Chile, this language difference has hindered Brazilians’ social and labor integration (Pinheiro da Silva, 2017; Da Silva Villar et al., 2021).

Secondly, Brazil’s population is characterized by ethnic and racial diversity, particularly its large Afro-descendant population.⁵ Currently, more than half of the Brazilian population (56.2%) identifies as black or mestizo (parda) (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografía e Estatística [IBGE], 2020). This fact is particularly interesting, in light of Chilean society’s greater rejection of migrants of color (Mercado-Órdenes & Figueiredo, 2023; Sirlopú et al., 2015).

Thirdly, being Brazilian entails specific representations in the international context, such as samba,⁶ carnival, propensity to party and a friendly approach to interpersonal relationships. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Brazilian government promoted images of the country featuring paradisiacal beaches and voluptuous women dancing almost naked to attract tourists (Padilla et al., 2017). Since the 1990s, Chile has integrated Brazilian cultural elements into its territory leading to the establishment of samba schools and capoeira institutes created and managed by Chileans. The popularization of the axé⁷ rhythm through the media also helped this integration (Pieroni de Lima, 2017). However, as noted by Pieroni de Lima (2017), Chileans’ cultural references to the “Brazilian culture” are simplified, exoticized and stereotyped. In addition, there is a significant influx of Brazilian tourists to Santiago and its surroundings (about 400 000 per year). This flow is important to the local economy and has led to a tourism market specifically targeting these tourists (Pieroni de Lima, 2017).

To sum up, Brazilian migration in Santiago represents a unique condition of difference. This can lead to the subjective daily negotiation of life experiences in the face of rigid stereotypes about their cultural characteristics and behavior. Similar findings have been reported in studies on Brazilian migration in Global North countries (Gaspar & Chatti-Iorio, 2022; Guizardi, 2013; Padilla et al., 2017; Souto García, 2022) and in other South American countries (Albuquerque, 2009; Frigerio, 2005; Gallero, 2016).

In this article, we aim to analyze the subjective identity processes related to transnational migration in the case of Brazilian migrants in Santiago, Chile. To achieve this, we conducted qualitative research with a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach, in which we explored i) the relationships participants maintain with, and between, the cultural configurations⁸ of origin and destination, and ii) which identity changes in narrative identities⁹ emerged from the experiences lived between cultures. In this study, we collected life narratives, conducted in-depth interviews and utilized photovoice with Brazilian adults who have resided in the Chilean capital for at least one year. The data were collected in 2018 and 2019 and were analyzed using thematic content analysis with the help of MaxQDA 2020 software.

In the following sections, we will first discuss the subjective identity processes in migration, highlighting the role of recognition in them. Next, we will describe the methodological aspects and the main results of our study. These relate to how the research subjects expressed the use of cultural differences as a tool for social integration in the host society. Finally, we will reflect on how moving between cultures opens spaces for subjective expansion and enables subjects to produce alternative narratives of identity for themselves.

Transnational identity processes, interstitial identities and the role of recognition

Migration produces a diversity of sociocultural experiences for migrant subjects, which affects their subjectivities¹⁰ and how they interpret themselves (Bhatia, 2011). In this article, personal identities are understood as reflexive hermeneutic processes of the “self” that are constituted from the experiences lived and narrated by the subjects during their life trajectory (Ricoeur, 2006). Identity processes are the story of the self that has lived and transformed over time. They are constructed from a body situated in specific material and discursive conditions and projected in the social context through language (narration) (Ricoeur, 2006).

According to Ricoeur (2006), identities emerge from relationships of sameness and differentiation with sociocultural and discursive contexts, other subjects and references of selfhood present in the memory of previous experiences. As a result, we form senses and meanings for the “self”. Although some identities are sedimented through time, Ricoeur’s perspective assumes that they are plural and mutable: identities are characterized more by being changeable (identity-ipse) than by remaining the same (identity-idem) (Ricoeur, 2006).

It should be noted that two key concepts play crucial roles in this process. The first, otherness refers to what is external and strange to the self and serves as a fundamental reference point from which persons mimic or differentiate themselves. The second, recognition, on the other hand, is the confirmation and acceptance of the “self” expressed in the narrative by others. Individuals seek recognition from the other-subject (intersubjective), other-community and other-society with their codes and normative and value frameworks¹¹ (Vargas Bonilla, 2020). Such recognition is a sine qua non condition for identities.

Therefore, identities are not merely products of individual will and choices. Subjects find themselves within social structures that preceded them, which classify and condition how they can live their lives and narrate their stories. In this sense, identities are points of articulation between the subjective dimension and social structures, and individuals and the dominant discourses that shape their life experiences (Hall, 2003).

In transnational migration, people’s encounters with otherness can increase, and their identity processes can diversify. Migrants often negotiate how they constitute themselves concerning new sociocultural frameworks (Bhatia, 2011; Bhatia & Ram, 2009). On the one hand, immigrants face other identity toolboxes in the host society (Grimson, 2011), including representations, images, social classifications and linguistic and behavioral codes that differ from those of their origin. On the other hand, they maintain connections to the cultural configuration of their origin through activities and interpersonal relationships that cross national borders. The place of origin changes over time, as do the migrants themselves; therefore, maintaining a link with the cultural configuration of origin also implies a relationship with otherness (Fernández Montes, 2013). Thus, the migrant condition is characterized by simultaneously relating to two or more spaces separated by national and cultural boundaries. This interaction results in a dialectic reorganizing of their “self” through active dialogue with the macrostructural configurations and (micro)social practices of these spaces (Guizardi, 2016).

By establishing relations with more than one cultural configuration and navigating materially, geographically and symbolically between their frames, third or interstitial spaces emerge for migrants.¹² These spaces are characterized by in-betweenness (Bhabha, 1998) as they belong neither to one cultural configuration nor the other. Rather, they are the product of successive encounters with difference and shaped in the subjective experience of transnational migration.

We define interstitial identities as the narrative identities that emerge from the third space. This concept refers to the specific condition of moving back and forth between the limits of what is possible within each sociocultural context when the subject inhabits both their origin and destination transnationally (Da Silva Villar et al., 2021; Da Silva Villar & Sharim Kovalskys, 2023). These identities are processual, plural and mutable; they are constantly negotiated within the frameworks of cultural configurations, identity toolboxes and categorizations established among social groups in each territory (Da Silva Villar et al., 2021; Da Silva Villar & Sharim Kovalskys, 2023). In other words, the identity production process of the self is dialectical: it occurs simultaneously between the migrant subjects’ possibilities of agency and the sociostructural conditions of the local contexts with which they interact (Guizardi, 2016). These structural conditions function through hierarchical power relations based on gender, ethnicity and class, among other social classifications, which create inequalities between different social groups, including migrants themselves (Guizardi, 2016). Given that they operate intersectionally, these inequalities produce differences in possible life experiences and, thus, they condition how migrants narrate themselves and how they produce personal identities within this third space (Da Silva Villar et al., 2021; Da Silva Villar & Sharim Kovalskys, 2023).

Methodology

This article stems from a doctoral qualitative study with a descriptive-exploratory design and a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach. The data was collected before the popular mobilizations in Santiago in October 2019 (called the “social outburst”) and the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, which reached Chile in March 2020.

We conducted a theoretical sampling with a previously defined structure and included only Brazilian adults (18 to 60 years of age) with at least one year of residence in Santiago. All participants were up to date with their migration documentation. Most of them were recruited through participant observations at Brazilian cultural events in Santiago (opportunity sampling). We also used the chain sampling technique (snowball sampling), in which we asked some participants to put us in contact with other migrants. The research involved 16 participants, eight females and eight males, ranging in age from 22 to 53 years old. Seven participants, of which four were women, identified as Afro-descendants or mestizos at some point during the interview. All participants had completed at least high school, and 10 had higher education, aligning with findings in previous research on Brazilian migrants in Chile (Pieroni de Lima, 2017; Pinheiro da Silva, 2017). All participants arrived in Chile after 2000, and their length of residency ranged between one year and one month and 16 years, averaging about five years. They were from different regions of Brazil (Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and South). Table 1 provides sociodemographic information of the participants (names were anonymized through pseudonyms).

Table 1. Sociodemographic characteristics of the participants

Name	Age	Sex-gender	Afro-desc./ mestizo	Education level	Occupation	City of origin (Brazilian State)	Year of arrival (Chile)	Length of residence in Santiago*
Ana María	38	Female	No	High School	Domestic worker	Recife (PE)	2017	1 year and a half
Bruna	32	Female	Yes	Higher education	Language teacher	Campo Grande (MS)	2016	3 years
Camila	36	Female	No	Higher education	Bank manager	Cascavel (PR)	2007	11 years
Carlos	31	Male	Yes	Higher education	Automotive engineer	Osasco (SP)	2018	1 year and two months
Dado	53	Male	No	Higher education	Religious leader	São Paulo (SP)	2017	1 year and seven months
Daniel	37	Male	No	Higher education	Entrepreneur	Botucatu (SP)	2010	8 years
Davi	28	Male	No	High School	Dancer	Rio de Janeiro (RJ)	2018	1 year and one month
Diego	37	Male	Yes	Higher education	Systems analyst	Niterói (RJ)	2015	3 years
Helena	39	Female	No	Higher education	Graphic designer	Rio de Janeiro (RJ)	2005	13 years
Luís	25	Male	No	High School	Tourism transfer	Porto Alegre (RS)	2015	2 and a half years
Manuela	33	Female	Yes	Graduate degree	University professor	Recife (PE)	2012	6 years
María	25	Female	No	Higher education	Tour services seller	São Paulo (SP)	2017	1 year and a half
Miguel	22	Male	Yes	High School	Tour guide	Osasco (SP)	2014	4 years
Pablo	35	Male	No	High School	Commercial representative	São Paulo (SP)	2011	7 years
Tania	42	Female	Yes	High School	Manicurist	Recife (PE)	2002	16 years
Vida	40	Female	Yes	Higher education	Language teacher	São Paulo (SP)	2017	1 year and ten months
*Length of residency at the time of the interviews. Source: own elaboration

Regarding their previous migration experiences, 12 participants had migrated within Brazil before moving to Santiago. Of these, six¹³ migrated within their state from cities in the interior to the capital, while the other six¹⁴ moved between different Brazilian states. Additionally, eight participants had previous international experiences which included travel abroad and/or study exchanges, among others. Notably, seven participants¹⁵ had already visited Santiago at some point in their lives. Three participants had migrated internationally before moving to Chile: Luís (one year in Argentina), Dado (four years in Japan, 20 in Peru) and Pablo (three years in Germany). When it comes to the motivation behind their migration, five participants¹⁶ indicated that they moved for affective reasons (migration for love), while 12 cited job opportunities or the desire to improve their living conditions.¹⁷

For data collection, we employed a combination of three narrative methods during two encounters with each participant: life stories (De Gaulejac, 1996), in-depth interviews (Gaínza, 2006) and photovoice, which utilizes participatory photography to enrich the narrative (Gómez, 2017). The interviews were conducted with the official consent of the participants (informed consent). Each meeting lasted from one and a half to four hours, averaging around four hours per participant when considering both encounters. The interviews were recorded as audio and transcribed for subsequent analysis.

Finally, we used thematic content analysis to analyze the transcriptions. This involved identifying patterns (themes) aligned with our research objectives taken from a cross-sectional reading of the interviews (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Consequently, we reorganized the data into those themes primarily related to i) the relationships of each participant with the cultural configurations of their origin and destination; ii) their experiences of being Brazilian in Santiago; and, iii) the identification-differentiation processes that emerged from their narratives. We used MaxQDA software for this analytical process.

Results

Santiago as an unexpected destination: navigating opportunities and cultural boundaries

Our Brazilian interviewees affirmed that they had not previously considered Santiago, Chile, as a destination before they migrated. Initially, they lacked information about the city. In Bruna’s words, “we do not have any references to Chilean culture in Brazil” (interview 1, para. 28). Moreover, Chile does not typically appear on the list of preferred migratory destinations for Brazilians, who tend to favor the United States and European countries. In fact, twelve participants¹⁸ mentioned that they had not considered Chile as an option at all.

The prospect of migrating to Santiago unexpectedly emerged in our participants’ lives, offering them the possibility to do something new and improve their economic conditions. Thirteen participants¹⁹ mentioned that their migration to Chile was an opportunity to expand professionally and personally. Eleven²⁰ of them described the move as a search for something new, a change in their life trajectory. María (interview 1, para. 8), who migrated with her boyfriend, said that beyond migrating for love, she was looking for a different experience. It is noteworthy that interpersonal relationships played an important role in making Santiago a migration destination for these participants. They were influenced by connections with Chileans,²¹ as well as by other Brazilians (such as family and friends) who had migrated before.²² Some participants also cited prior work-related trips to Santiago²³ or vacations²⁴ as contributing factors to their decision.

After migrating to the city, participants described Santiago as a safe place with beautiful landscapes, economic stability and good job opportunities for foreigners. Camila, Carlos, Davi, Luís, María and Miguel (6) affirmed that they valued Santiago because they felt safer concerning daily crime compared to their places of origin (South and Southeast Brazil). Furthermore, Camila, Carlos, Daniel, Luís, Miguel and Pablo (6) mentioned Chile’s growth and economic stability as key factors in Chile that provided them with better living conditions. Miguel, Carlos, Davi and Helena (4) reported that they had enhanced their quality of life since moving. The participants also expressed awe at the beauty of Chile’s natural landscapes, which offered them a series of outdoor experiences they had never had before.

However, the most significant aspect that characterizes Santiago for our participants is the successive and stark cultural differences they face, which induce a sense of strangeness and necessitate adaptation. First, there is the language barrier. Twelve participants²⁵ started learning Spanish after moving to Santiago, and except for Miguel and Daniel, they said that dealing with the language has been a significant challenge in their daily lives. Manuela and Vida, who already knew Spanish through classes taken in Brazil, still struggled understanding Chilean idioms and slang. Helena and Tania, residents of Santiago for more than 13 years, said that they have not lost their Brazilian accent yet, which marks them still as foreigners in their social circles.

Second, the participants perceived differences in social habits and behaviors between Chileans and Brazilians. One example is the use of public spaces for social interactions. Carlos (interview 2, para. 201) described how in Osasco, it was normal to go out to bars and restaurants with friends and use public spaces, while in Santiago, friends usually meet in the comfort of their homes. In the case of Ana María (interview 2, para. 356), neighbors meet on the sidewalks to chat in Recife, a practice that is less frequent in Santiago.

Third, most participants²⁶ reported having developed relationships with foreigners of other nationalities and incorporating these cultural backgrounds into their daily lives in Santiago. Ana María had a Bolivian boyfriend and participated in a group of Christian women from different Latin American countries. In his business, Daniel managed workers from different parts of the world. Davi worked in a dance academy, collaborating with artists from South American and European countries, while Miguel, Luís and María reported experience working with tourists from different countries. Tania chose a Venezuelan woman as a partner in her beauty salon and had taken an acrylic nails course made up of Latin American women of different nationalities. Vida and Bruna taught at a language school where several North Americans worked. Finally, Manuela and Diego interacted with people from other Latin American countries through social groups: Diego participated in forró²⁷ groups, Manuela in an Afro-Latino women activist group.

I like being in Chile because I feel part of South America. In Brazil, I feel like we are on an island: Brazil. We do not connect much with our neighbors [other countries]. Here I feel this connection, as South Americans. We speak Spanish; we speak Portuguese. If I go to a party, there is Colombian salsa, and Dominican salsa, there is Venezuelan salsa. This mix is amazing. (Diego, interview 1, para. 51)

Fourth, all the participants reported experiencing differences (and conflicts) with Chileans. The majority (14)²⁸ said that Chileans were unreceptive to coexisting with foreigners, particularly in friendly and daily interpersonal relationships. They all shared the idea that Chileans like to be among those they consider equals. In this sense, they differed from Brazilians, who were described as open, easy-going and more supportive. Chileans were also characterized as distrustful, cold and distant in relationships. Vida (interview 1, para. 62) and Helena (interview 1, para. 54) added that this translates into poor customer service in the capital. For Pablo (interview 1, para. 48), this characteristic created more job opportunities for foreigners in the labor market. However, Manuela (interview 1, para. 48) clarified that these traits predominately represented people from Santiago rather than all Chileans.

Lastly, concerning the treatment of foreigners, Bruna, Camila, Davi, Helena and Manuela (5) shared instances where they suffered xenophobia. They reported being told explicitly that they should return to their country and they were blamed for stealing jobs from Chileans. Likewise, Camila, Davi, Helena and Manuela (4) mentioned that people from Brazil, especially women and sexual dissidents, were hypersexualized by local people: they were expected to be sexually available or even to work in the sex industry. Furthermore, Diego, Manuela, Miguel and Tania (4) reported their own experiences of racism, illustrating how it intersected with xenophobia and classism in their daily lives. They observed that Chileans tended to discriminate more harshly against migrants of color who come from countries considered poor.

Brazilian ties across borders: networks that sustain migration

The research showed that Brazilians maintained permanent contact with family and friends back in Brazil, thanks to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Ten participants²⁹ reported connecting regularly with people from their place of origin via social networks. Among them, three³⁰ said they send remittances to their relatives. Most participants (12)³¹ said they traveled periodically to Brazil, according to their ability to afford the trips. The frequency of their trips varied, ranging from once every two months (in the case of Carlos and Daniel) to once every two years (in the case of Luís). Additionally, Bruna, Dado, Diego, Manuela and Tania (5) reported receiving people from Brazil in Santiago and showing them around the city.

Regarding the presence of Brazilian cultural elements in their daily lives, the participants mentioned that they: i) speak Portuguese frequently (12);³² ii) cook Brazilian food (8);³³ iii) import Brazilian products or buy them from other migrants in Santiago (5);³⁴iv) listen to Brazilian music regularly (6);³⁵ and, v) actively participated in Brazilian music and dance groups, such as forró and samba (3).³⁶ Additionally, some reported maintaining regional traditions in their routines: Luís drank chimarrão and listened to gaucho music³⁷ daily, while Ana María, Manuela and Tania reported cooking typical meals from northeastern Brazil whenever they had the necessary ingredients and time. Participants³⁸ also mentioned that they recreated Brazilian cultural festivities with their friends and family. Bruna and her work colleagues organized Junina festivals³⁹ in their homes during June and July each year. Tania referred to celebrating the Brazilian carnival at home with friends and family, and Helena reported that she had kept the habit of giving candies on Saints Cosme and Damião’s Day (September 27),⁴⁰ adapting it to her current life: instead of giving candies to children, she gave them to her work colleagues.

Brazilian professional networks proved fundamental for the labor market insertion of participants. Several found employment through Brazilian contacts, such as Ana María, who migrated to work as a maid for a Brazilian family, or Miguel, who got his first job in Santiago in a restaurant with the help of his brother who had migrated years earlier. Participants also maintained links with people from Brazil through their jobs. Luís, María and Miguel worked with Brazilian tourists in Santiago; Bruna and Vida are language teachers for Brazilian students; Camila works for a Brazilian bank in Santiago; and Daniel has primarily Brazilian employees as an entrepreneur of a human resources consultancy business.

According to participants, Facebook, with its groups for Brazilians in Chile, is an essential platform for those who have migrated or wish to migrate to Chile. Within these groups, participants help each other with practical matters such as visas, housing and employment issues.

Finally, the individuals who play a significant role in the participants’ interpersonal connections are from Brazil: “Brazilians hang out with Brazilians” (Bruna, interview 1, para. 22). Bruna, Camila, Daniel, Diego, Pablo and Tania (6) affirmed that most of their closest friends are still Brazilians. They explained that this is because Chileans are not open to forming friendly relationships and there are communication challenges between the two groups.

Performing Brazilianness in Santiago: strategy and recognition

They [Chileans] make friends among themselves. It is not easy to enter the Chilean environment. […]. You can feel the difference between Brazilians and Chileans, can’t you? Because they are more reserved than us. […] Chileans are more encapsulated in their circles, but they love Brazilians! (Miguel, interview 1, para. 90)

Miguel’s narrative illustrates the complex and sometimes contradictory perceptions that shape the experiences of Brazilian migrants in Santiago: while locals may harbor discriminatory attitudes towards foreigners, they simultaneously appreciate what they perceive as “Brazilian culture”. This positive perception of Brazilians in Santiago was reported by 14 participants,⁴¹ who described the interest from Chileans towards them as welcoming. The participants suggested that local people associate them with Brazilian “typical traits”: a love of partying, soccer and dancing skills, spontaneous joy, colorful clothes, sexual freedom and an optimistic approach to life. Diego (interview 2, para.170) stated that “there is a representation of nationality and its characteristics. So, the Brazilian is constructed in the Chilean’s mind as full of samba, partying, good vibes, entertaining, all excellent”.

The participants noted that the initially unreceptive attitude of Chileans often changes when they realize that a migrant is Brazilian. This shift has facilitated stronger connections between natives and foreigners in their personal and professional relationships. According to Carlos, Diego, Manuela and Tania, this change can even help mitigate the racist discrimination that Afro-Brazilians usually face in their daily lives. As a result, Afro-Brazilians said they experienced more racism in Brazil than in Santiago. According to Tania (interview 1, para.180), a person has fewer job opportunities in Brazil because of racism, a situation she suggests is not as evident in Chile. Vida (interview 1, para. 36) reported that beyond skin color, “a lot of the distinction is based on nationality” in Chile.

When I first came [to Santiago], I did not suffer racism […]. And I think it is because I am Brazilian. When people realize that I am Brazilian, the situation softens. The situation would be very different if I were Colombian or Haitian and had the same skin tone. (Manuela, interview 2, para. 133)

The welcoming attitude and receptiveness towards individuals from Brazil create “a bridge of interest on the part of the Chileans” (Diego, interview 2, para. 142). Fourteen participants⁴² noted this positive reception as an advantage for Brazilians compared to other Latin American and Caribbean migrants in Santiago. Furthermore, they capitalized on this appreciation of their Brazilianness, even when they did not identify with the stereotypical images that Chileans had of them.

The participants also reported leveraging Brazilian cultural elements to insert themselves professionally in Santiago. For instance, they utilized the Portuguese language to offer services to other Brazilians. This approach was observed in the tourism work reported by Luís, Miguel and María. There is a market of services for Brazilian tourists in Santiago, providing tours to points of interest in and around the city. Similarly, Vida and Bruna employed this strategy by offering English classes to Brazilians and Portuguese classes to Spanish speakers.

Tania, an Afro-Brazilian woman who had worked as a dancer of Brazilian rhythms for ten years, is an example of the above. Before migrating, she danced typical northeastern Brazilian rhythms in Recife. However, when she was settled in Santiago, she started to work with nationalized cultural elements, such as samba and carnival festivals from southeastern Brazil. In Tania’s specific case, such work helped her get out of an abusive relationship with her Chilean ex-husband, raise her two daughters and finance her professional training in acrylic nails.

Some participants mentioned using Brazilian cultural elements to insert themselves socially into Chilean groups. For instance, Diego (interview 1, para. 39) shared how participating in forró groups in Santiago had enabled him to widen his circle of friends. Carlos began to frequent groups of Chileans who shared a passion for Brazil and met weekly to play samba. In a short time, he became a musician in the group, an opportunity he said would not have been possible in his place of origin, where samba players prioritized higher-level musicians. Carlos mentioned several times how meaningful participating in this group was for him as it made him feel included, welcomed and recognized. In both cases, the participants had already engaged with these musical rhythms in their places of origin; however, their relationship with these cultural artifacts changed in their destination.

Furthermore, we observed the existence of intimate and family relationships established between Brazilians and Chileans. Ten participants (seven women and three men) currently have Chilean partners or have previously been in a long-term relationship with Chileans. At the time of their interviews, María, Manuela, Camila, Luís, Tania and Vida were in stable romantic relationships with people born in Chile. Additionally, María, Camila, Pablo and Tania are mothers/fathers of Chilean children born from these cross-cultural relationships. Daniel shared that his son, who was born in Chile from his marriage to a Brazilian, was thriving in both sociocultural contexts. María affirmed that she was so well received by her partner’s family that she no longer wanted to return to Brazil: she felt more comfortable with them than in her own family (María, interview 1, para. 42).

Finally, despite the difficulties related to cultural differences, xenophobia, racism and conflicts in coexistence with Chileans, all participants affirmed that Santiago had provided them with new experiences in a positive sense. These new experiences were considered opportunities they would not have had if they had stayed in Brazil. Camila said (interview 1, para. 88): “I think that migrating was very important to improve my life story. If I had stayed in Brazil, […] I would not be where I am today. I am not talking economically. I mean, emotionally, my growth as a person”.

Discussion: negotiating subjectivity in the third space

Brazilian immigrants in Santiago are transnational migrants, as defined by Glick Schiller et al. (1995), and relate to the sociocultural dimensions of each society as an alterity. This condition, along with the positive reception Brazilians receive from Chileans (and the job and personal opportunities that entails), configures a third space (Bhabha, 1998) for their identity processes.

An indication of this interstitial space in the identity processes of migrants is how the study participants describe themselves based on their migration experience. All participants shared narratives including a sense of personal identity transformation and subjective expansion related to migration at some point in the interviews. Phrases like “getting out of the bubble”, “breaking the circle”, “discovering oneself”, “expanding their business and interests” and “feeling more unrestrained and in charge of their own lives” were used by the participants to refer to these processes. In the words of Miguel (interview 1, para. 38), “Getting to know another country, another culture and another language hugely opens your mind”. Similarly, María comments about her personal transformation: “living in another country makes you deal with things you were not used to” (María, interview 1, para. 28).

However, most participants (12) reported that this personal development came with certain losses that they felt were a price they had to pay. Some examples of these losses include the feeling of leaving behind a whole life in Brazil, the distance from family and friends and the difficulties mentioned above related to the cultural differences at the destination.

Sometimes, I still think and cry because I had a life there; I had my own house, and I was poor, but I had everything. […] I had my job, I traveled within the [Brazilian] northeast, I had my car, my husband had his motorcycle, and I left everything, so sometimes that hurts a lot [...]. (Ana María, interview 1, para. 76)

Therefore, the migratory experience can expand subjectivity in the interstitial space between cultural configurations. This space is, in itself, an (intra)subjective space in which new (third) identities can be (trans)formed. However, such transformation is negotiated and it is not cost-free: migrants have to deal with the sociocultural frameworks that precede them in the society of destination, the losses that migration entails and the narrow images that exist about people of their nationality in the receiving society.

In the case of Brazilians in Santiago, the positive valuation of their nationality by the local society has allowed them to negotiate their identity process with extra space and (re)produce interstitial identities despite being stereotyped and exoticized (Pieroni de Lima, 2017). For illustrative purposes, we identified different expressions of identity narrated by the participants of this study, which we categorized into seven groups of interstitial identities (Table 2). Considering identities as identification processes (Hall, 2003), the same subject can express more than one identity, even if these appear contradictory.

Table 2. Interstitial identities

Name	Chilean cultural dissidentgroups	Latin American identities	Transn. regional identities	Transn. Brazilianness	Transn. parenthood	Transn. religiosities	Citizen of the world
Ana María		X	X			X
Bruna				X			X
Camila				X	X
Carlos				X
Dado		X			X	X	X
Daniel			X		X		X
Davi		X					X
Diego	X	X	X				X
Helena						X
Luís			X
Manuela	X	X	X
María	X				X
Miguel							X
Pablo					X
Tania			X	X	X
Vida							X
Note: expressions of identity narrated by the participants, grouped by thematic category. Source: own elaboration

We found identifications with Chilean cultural dissident groups and Latin American identities, which align closely with the cultural configuration of the destination. In the first group, identifications emerged with the Mapuche indigenous group (Diego), cultures from northern Chile (Manuela), and the lifestyles associated with the peripheries of Santiago (María). The concept of Latin American identities refers to the self-perception of Brazilians as part of a broader Latin American brotherhood, shaped by migration.⁴³ This second identity also includes identifications with Latin American minority groups, such as Afro-Latinas (Manuela).

For those identities linked to the place of origin, we noted transnational regional identities. These refer to participants who describe themselves based on the cultural practices of a particular Brazilian state. They adapt these practices to the local reality in the destination and use them to their advantage in some cases. For instance, Daniel defined himself as Paulista,⁴⁴ meaning he is aggressive and competitive in business, a quality that gives him an advantage in the Chilean business market.

Also related to the context of origin, we found transnational Brazilianness, which is the identification with Brazilian cultural elements that have been nationalized and used as stereotypes for Brazilians abroad. We identified two ways of expressing these identities: i) building Brazil in Santiago by establishing relationships exclusively with Brazilians, purchasing products and using services from people from that country (Camila and Bruna); and, ii) embodying Brazilian cultural elements, such as dressing in the “Brazilian colors” (green and yellow), dancing samba and striving always to be cheerful and ready to celebrate (Tania and Carlos). Using these elements, they improve professional and personal opportunities in Santiago.

It is important to highlight that the two individuals whose interstitial identities align with international stereotypes of Brazilian nationality are Afro-Brazilians. This association may be due to the fact that, internationally, the image of Brazilians has been associated with specific phenotypic characteristics, such as darker skin tone (Guizardi, 2013). Consequently, we could infer that the structural limits with which Brazilians have to negotiate their identities in the cultural configurations of the destination include dealing with even more intense stereotyping for those people who most resemble the imaginary of Brazilianness: people of color. In the case of Afro-Brazilian women, the situation is even more sensitive due to the sexualization, exoticization and objectification of their bodies, linked to the figure of the mulata⁴⁵ (Corrêa, 1996). Still, navigating between the racism of Chileans and being exoticized as Afro-Brazilians, the most viable strategy seems to be performing Brazilianness. In the specific case of Tania, she used her work as a mulata (as she calls her job as a samba dancer) to achieve economic independence and improve her living conditions.⁴⁶

Transnational parenthood refers to identifications linked to the unique experiences of parenting that arise from being in a foreign country. This was observed in two ways: i) having children born in Chile and dealing with the fact that their mother tongue is Spanish (María, Camila, Daniel and Tania). This included negotiations in child-rearing amid cultural differences in couple relationships between Chileans and Brazilians; and ii) having children in Brazil and maintaining transnational bonds with them by participating in their upbringing through ICTs and periodic trips to Brazil (Ana María and Dado).

Transnational religiosities are also referred to as a way of narrating oneself and constructing a personal story around religious practices that cross national borders. These practices have allowed participants to insert themselves in Santiago professionally and socially. For example, we found Dado, who migrated to Chile and became a representative of Japanese religion; Ana María, who inserted herself socially through her participation in Christian Latin American women’s groups; and Helena, who discovered Yogi spirituality in Santiago, which she has embraced as her current way of being.

Finally, some interviewees identified themselves as global citizens: individuals who feel they do not belong to any specific place and, therefore, can live and adapt anywhere. For these respondents, national boundaries blur, allowing them to cross borders with ease. In addition, we encountered individuals with the economic privilege of freely crossing geographical borders (Daniel) alongside those who have yet to visit other countries besides Chile (Miguel). In Miguel’s case, border crossing seemed to be mainly symbolic: he mentioned his frequent interactions with people from different cultures in Santiago, through which he has learned Spanish, English and German.

Final thoughts

In this article, we aimed to analyze the subjective identity processes related to transnational migration through the case of Brazilian migrants in Santiago, Chile. Using a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach, we identified how the participants relate to the cultural configurations of origin and destination.

Our findings reveal accounts of personal identity changes in a transversal manner in our interviewees’ narratives. In this aspect, we draw on Ricoeur’s (2006) contributions: personal identities are characterized more by their transformations than by their stability. While this characteristic of identity is not solely a product of migration, we argue that moving between societies of origin and destination enables ongoing encounters with cultural differences that, as we have seen, foster new subjective identity processes (Bhatia, 2011). As demonstrated in our case study, these (dis)encounters with difference enabled the emergence of plural narrative identities -interstitial identities- that are hybrid in their characteristics: they carry cultural elements of origin and/or destination and link these cultural configurations at some level.

The processual nature of identities also represents the most significant limitation of this article. The interstitial identities highlighted in the participants’ narratives are a snapshot of a moment in each migrant’s identity construction process at a specific sociohistorical moment. The social upheavals of late 2019 in Chile and the COVID-19 pandemic in the following years may not only have changed these identities but also redirected the migration trajectories of these individuals. Nevertheless, analyzing the migration experiences of Brazilians in Santiago provides us with insights into how personal identity processes related to migration can function when there is a minimum level of recognition of the migrant in the host society. In this regard, we would like to explore further some results that we consider essential to understanding the context of South American migration in Santiago, on the one hand, and the articulation between personal identity, culture and migration on the other.

First, the Brazilian interviewees corroborate that Chilean-Santiago society’s is often unwelcoming to South American migrants based on their characteristics (nationality, skin color, socioeconomic status and gender, among others). This phenomenon has been described in other studies (Agar Corbinos, 2015; Ambiado Cortes et al., 2022; Mercado-Órdenes & Figueiredo, 2023; Sirlopú et al., 2015; Sirlopú & Van-Oudenhoven, 2013; Stefoni & Bonhomme, 2014; Tijoux & Retamales, 2015). Echoing the experiences reported by Colombians in Chile (Gissi et al., 2019), Brazilians perceive people from Santiago as distant and distrustful in interpersonal relationships. Additionally, as identified in other research on discrimination against migrants in Santiago (Ambiado Cortes et al., 2022; Bustamante Cifuentes, 2017; Gissi & Aguilar, 2023; Gissi-Barbieri & Ghio-Suárez, 2017; Liberona Concha, 2012; López Mendoza, 2017; Madriaga Parra, 2020; Sirlopú et al., 2015; Tijoux, 2016), participants perceived that people of color and with low socioeconomic conditions from developing countries face heightened levels of by racism and xenophobia. Some of our participants included themselves in this group.

However, this characteristic coexists with the positive valuation of Brazilian cultural elements by Chileans. According to our interviewees, this resulted in better treatment of Brazilian migrants. This more favorable treatment contrasts with the exclusionary attitudes that the receiving society demonstrates towards other Latin American and Caribbean migrants (Ambiado Cortes et al., 2022). Therefore, Brazilians did not identify with the image of the disadvantaged migrant in Chile (Ivanova et al., 2022; Thayer Correa, 2013); rather they related their sense of advantage and privilege to their nationality. Brazilians of color reported situations of discrimination and racism were softened by their national and cultural origin. This paradox -being a South American immigrant, person of color and privileged- confirmed the hierarchical relationships found between migrant groups in Santiago.

Second, Brazilians in Santiago negotiated their identity processes through their unique differences and cultural specificities rather than mimicking the host society’s cultural aspects, as they do when they are migrants in Global North countries (Padilla et al., 2017). The use of Brazilian national symbols and artifacts to gain advantages in daily interpersonal relationships appears primarily in narratives of Afro-Brazilians and individuals who inhabit the same territories as other Latin American and Caribbean migrant groups that are more discriminated against. In this sense, we speak of a paradox of recognition: the difference (Brazilianness) recognized by the Other (Chileans) is not a genuine dialogue through otherness but rather a relation with a previous representation of what being a Brazilian should mean. Brazilians do not identify themselves in those terms; however, the recognition of the image of “Brazilianness” projected by Chileans establishes professional, social and affective bridges between people of both nationalities. In short, this type of recognition, though partial and paradoxical, could give people from Brazil an extra space (compared to migrants of other nationalities from the Global South) to dialogue with the host society and expand their subjectivities.

Third, the subjectivity expanded by transnational migration and migrants’ recognition of their otherness has facilitated the emergence of other narrative identities for the “selves”, which are products of existing between cultural configurations (interstitial identities). Echoing Guizardi’s (2016) observations on identity reconfigurations in border contexts, we identified that the interstitial identities analyzed in this study: i) depend on the experiences lived by each subject in dialogue with the macrostructural aspects of the contexts with which they interact; ii) may have aspects of social and cultural identities from both origin and destination but are narrated and interpreted through the lens of the transnational experience; and, iii) the same person may express different identities, even if they seem contradictory. Moreover, processes of personal identity hybridization can be more constrained by stereotypes, leaving less space for identity negotiation when migrants are positioned within intersecting categories of social differentiation that create disadvantage, as is the case of Afro-Brazilian women (see Da Silva Villar et al., 2021).

Fourth, the identifications with the nation of origin and destination were only some of the elements in the emergence of interstitial identities in the case studied. The identities that emerged with the receiving society are mostly linked to identification with minority groups and not to a Chilean national identity. As for the identifications with a “Brazilian national identity”, only four of the 16 participants framed their narratives around Brazilianness. These identifications also exhibited transnational characteristics (negotiated with what is expected of Brazilians in the specific context of Santiago). This led us to question the centrality of national identities in the migrant experience and the tendency to consider national borders (physical and symbolic) as a given in social analysis (see Levitt & Glick Schiller, 2004).

Fifth, we emphasize that migration not only broadens subjectivity and transforms the identities of migrants but also fosters sociocultural growth in the destination context. Examples such as the consolidation of forró in Santiago (Diego), the formation of political groups of Afro-Latino women (Manuela), the construction of enterprises with differentiated services and attention (Tania and Daniel) and the implementation of new religious practices (Dado) corroborate this assumption. If these contributions from migrants to their place of destination were possible through partial recognition, it makes us wonder what possibilities of subjective (and social) expansion we could have if the migrant other were recognized as oneself and with their genuine difference (in Ricoeur’s terms), regardless of how well they align with the expectations of the host society.

Finally, in this article, we have analyzed the dynamic processes of production of interstitial identities, which are negotiated between agency and structure, focusing particularly on the Brazilian migrant experience in Chile. However, it is beyond the scope of this article to delve into the effects of the simultaneous action of different social categories on the identity processes of the participants. Nevertheless, our findings point to the need for future research to further investigate the intersectional inequalities that hierarchize migrant groups in Chile and create different conditions of opportunity for them.

Acknowledgment

We thank the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID, acronym in Spanish for Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo) of the Government of Chile (CONICYT-PFCHA/Doctorado Nacional/2017-21171315) for funding the doctoral research project “Entre brasilidades y chilenidades: la (re)producción de identidades narrativas en la experiencia migratoria transnacional de brasileños/as en Santiago de Chile” (“Between Brazilianities and Chileanities: the (re)production of narrative identities in the transnational migratory experience of Brazilians in Santiago de Chile”) which gave rise to this article.

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Notes

¹ While Santiago hosts the largest number of immigrants in absolute numbers, other regions are also significant when considering their population size relative to the number of migrants, for example, Arica-Parinacota, Tarapacá and Antofagasta (Departamento de Estadísticas Demográficas y Sociales, 2024).

² Chileans tend not to identify as Latin Americans; instead, they have a strong connection to their national identity (González et al., 2010, pp. 814-815).

³ This perspective is part of a broader project aimed at institutionalizing the Chilean state undertaken by Santiago’s elites who have sought to create socio-cultural and moral uniformity around a specific idea of a nation for political purposes, one example being the conquest of the Great North of Chile during the War of the Pacific (Cádiz Villarroel, 2013; Guizardi, 2016). In addition, the construction of a Chilean nation emphasizes the idea of European and Christian whiteness as the idealized racial identity (Guizardi & Garcés, 2014; Thayer Correa & Tijoux Merino, 2022; Tijoux, 2016).

⁴ Transnational migration is a process by which “immigrants forge and sustain simultaneous, multi-stranded social relationships that link their societies of origin and settlement” (Glick Schiller et al., 1995, p. 48). They are characterized by “regular and sustained social contacts over time” that cross these national boundaries (Portes et al., 1999, p. 219).

⁵ Of the enslaved Africans who arrived in the American continent between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, 4 860 000 arrived in Brazil (46% of the total). Considering that in the same period, approximately 75 000 Portuguese arrived, it can be said that for every 100 people who disembarked in Brazil, 86 were Africans (De Alencastro, 2018, p. 60).

⁶ Samba emerged among Afro-Brazilians from Bahia (northeast Brazil) who migrated to Rio de Janeiro’s marginal sectors (then Brazil’s capital) (De Menezes Bastos, 1996). In the 1940s, after being appropriated by white elites, it was nationalized as a symbol of Brazilian identity and incorporated as part of the ideological-political discourse of the State (Napolitano & Wasserman, 2000; Paranhos, 2003).

⁷ An Afro-Brazilian-influenced musical and choreographic rhythm that emerged in the 1980s in the popular carnival festivities in Salvador, Bahia (Oliveira & Campos, 2016).

⁸ Cultural frameworks are those in which a community or society shares a common historicity, its regimes of meaning, practices, social classifications and power relations (Grimson, 2011). It is not based on the idea of the nation-state but can incorporate national identity elements and how these are adopted in a local context.

⁹ Narrative identities are narratives about the “self” that mediate access to personal identities and transform them as the narrative is constituted (Ricoeur, 2006).

¹⁰ Subjectivities are a set of “modes of perception, affect, thought, desire and fear that animate the acting subjects. But also [...] to the cultural and social formations that shape, organize and generate those modes of affect, thought” (Ortner, 2016, p. 127).

¹¹ In Ricoeurian theory recognition is defined as the identification of the object (referent) as itself, which is linked to the dimension of selfhood in the identity process (Vargas Bonilla, 2020). The idea we want to use here is recognizing the other as oneself in terms of value while being able to be different in terms of content.

¹² Bhabha (1998) mentions this third space, which refers to the gaps between dominant cultural frameworks that enable the processes of cultural production and diversification.

¹³ Daniel, Diego, Manuela, Ana María, Bruna and Camila.

¹⁴ Dado, Davi, Luís, Miguel, María and Vida.

¹⁵ Manuela, Vida, Diego, Pablo, Dado, Daniel and Davi.

¹⁶ Helena, Tania, Vida, María and Pablo.

¹⁷ Camila, Bruna, Diego, Daniel, Dado, Ana María, Carlos, Pablo, Miguel, Davi, Manuela and Luís. Pablo explained his migration for love and work.

¹⁸ Bruna, Camila, Carlos, Dado, Davi, Helena, Luís, Manuela, María, Miguel, Tania and Vida.

¹⁹ Ana María, Bruna, Camila, Carlos, Daniel, Davi, Diego, Luís, Manuela, María, Miguel, Pablo and Vida.

²⁰ Ana María, Bruna, Camila, Carlos, Davi, Diego, Luís, María, Miguel, Pablo and Vida.

²¹ Diego, Helena, Luís, Manuela, María, Tania and Vida.

²² Ana María, Bruna and Miguel.

²³ Daniel, Dado, Davi, Manuela and Pablo.

²⁴ Daniel, Diego and Vida.

²⁵ Ana María, Bruna, Camila, Carlos, Daniel, Davi, Helena, Luís, María, Miguel, Pablo and Tania.

²⁶ Ana María, Bruna, Dado, Daniel, Davi, Diego, Luís, Manuela, María, Miguel, Tania and Vida.

²⁷ Popular dance and musical genre from northeastern Brazil that mixes African and European cultural elements (Pantano Filho & Lourençon, 2020). It is disseminated in the central-south region of Brazil through northeastern migrants who formed the labor force for the construction of large Brazilian cities, such as Brasilia and São Paulo (Paes, 2017; Pantano Filho & Lourençon, 2020).

²⁸ Ana María, Bruna, Camila, Carlos, Dado, Daniel, Davi, Helena, Luís, Manuela, Miguel, Pablo, Tania and Vida.

²⁹ Ana María, Bruna, Davi, Dado, Diego, Helena, Luís, Manuela, María and Tania.

³⁰ Davi, Luís and Ana María.

³¹ Bruna, Camila, Carlos, Daniel, Davi, Diego, Helena, Luís, María, Manuela, Pablo and Tania.

³² Ana María, Bruna, Camila, Carlos, Daniel, Davi, Diego, María, Miguel, Pablo, Tania and Vida.

³³ Ana María, Bruna, Camila, Dado, Davi, Miguel, Manuela and Tania.

³⁴ Ana María, Bruna, Camila, Davi and Tania.

³⁵ Ana María, Bruna, Dado, Davi, Pablo and Tania.

³⁶ Diego (forró), Carlos and Tania (samba).

³⁷ Musical genre whose lyrics lend devotion to Rio Grande do Sul state’s land, nature and culture. Together with chimarrão (a drink made from hot water and mate herb), it is one of the forms of expression of the regional gaucho identity (Brum Neto & Bezzi, 2008).

³⁸ Bruna, Camila, Davi, Helena and Tania.

³⁹ Popular festival with a religious character in which Catholic saints are celebrated. It was brought to Brazil by the Portuguese Jesuits in the sixteenth century and it incorporates regional and local cultural elements through folk dances, bonfires, games, music and abundant food (Chianca, 2007).

⁴⁰ This festivity of popular Catholicism is celebrated by delivering sweets to children to pay an obligation to these two Syrian saints between September 27 and October 12 (Children’s Day). In African-based religions, Cosme and Damião were syncretized as erês (child spirits), and the candies are offered to Afro deities (Orixás) (Tavares Dias, 2015).

⁴¹ Ana María, Bruna, Carlos, Daniel, Davi, Diego, Helena, Luís, Manuela, María, Miguel, Pablo, Tania and Vida.

⁴² Ana María, Bruna, Carlos, Daniel, Davi, Diego, Helena, Luís, Manuela, María, Miguel, Pablo, Tania and Vida.

⁴³ In the case of Dado, this identity has been built since he migrated to Peru.

⁴⁴ Someone born and raised in the São Paulo Metropolitan area.

⁴⁵ The mulata (Brazilian mixed-race woman), with her voluptuous body and supposed sexual availability, is represented in the national and international imaginary as the symbol of carnival and Brazilian culture (Corrêa, 1996).

⁴⁶ The intersectional aspects of the experience of Brazilians in Santiago and their effects on their identity processes have already been discussed in greater depth in another publication by the authors (Da Silva Villar et al., 2021).

Ariany da Silva Villar
Brazilian. Doctorate in Psychology of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC-Chile). She is currently a researcher at the Instituto de Investigación y Doctorados and the Facultad de Derecho y Humanidades of the Universidad Central de Chile, and is responsible researcher of the Fondecyt Postdoctoral Project 3250262 “What is it like to age in the country of origin? Life trajectories and aging processes of older migrant returnees to Santiago (Chile)” (ANID, Chile). Research lines; transnational migrations; identity processes; intersectional and gender studies; old age and aging; biographical approach. Recent publication: Gonzálvez-Torralbo, H. & Da Silva Villar, A. (2024). Representaciones de las personas mayores en los estudios sobre migraciones, cuidados y envejecimiento. Si Somos Americanos, 24. https://doi.org/10.61303/07190948.v24i.1163

Dariela Sharim
Chilean. Doctorate in Psychological Sciences, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. Currently she is a Professor at the Escuela de Psicología of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and is director of the Laboratorio de Investigación en Subjetividad y Cambio Social. Research lines: sexuality; subjectivity and gender; social and intimacy bonds; biographical approach and life stories; mental health. Recent publication: Rihm Bianchi, A. I. & Sharim Kovalskys, D. (2025). Mujeres migrantes colombianas en Chile: movilizadas por la búsqueda de reconocimiento. Revista Praxis Psy, 26(42). https://praxispsy.udp.cl/index.php/praxispsi/article/view/287

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