Abstract

CARREIRAS, Helena et al. From fado to tango: portuguese emigration to the River Plate. Sociologia, Problemas e Práticas [online]. 2007, n.54, pp.49-73. ISSN 0873-6529.

The significance of Spanish and Italian emigration in the constitution of the national societies of Latin America’s Southern Cone is well known; in contrast, much less is known about the Portuguese emigration, especially in the Spanish-speaking countries of Argentina and Uruguay. This article explores the migratory dynamics and the characteristics of the Portuguese emigrants in the River Plate, a region that encompasses Uruguay, the littoral provinces of Argentina and three states in Southern Brazil. After an introduction to the historical and geographic features of the region, we present a succinct analysis of the migratory processes that populated it between the midle of the XIXth century and the end of the XXth century. We single out the migratory policies of origin and destiny and advance a periodisation of the migratory flows originating from Portugal. Next, we suggest a series of elements to characterize the Portuguese and Portuguese-descendent communities and their associative dynamics. The article ends with some comparative reflections.

Keywords : international migrations; portuguese emigration; migratory policies; Portugal; Latin America; River Plate.

        · abstract in Portuguese | French | Spanish     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )