Emigrar al otro lado del mar: brasileñas imaginan europa

Instigated by the global media, the imagination of alternative contexts and lifestyles is an increasingly (re)current social practice. In the article I analyse this practice among Brazilian women who are involved in intimate relationships with European tourists in the seaside neighbourhood of Ponta Negra (Natal, Northeast Brazil). Bearing in mind that the imagination is inseparable from certain political economy frameworks, I try to understand where the imaginary of Europe produced by these women come from and how it manifests itself; to what extent do these imaginary shapes predisposition and agency for transatlantic migration; and how previous representations are calibrated and resignified when mobilities for the European continent occur. The analysis is based on an ethnographic fieldwork experience, in which participant observation and semi-directed interviews constituted the main means of empirical research.