From the Northeast to Minas:

the reterritorialization of immigrants of Ceará in Governador Valadares-MG

Abstract

Governador Valadares, which gives its name and is the main municipality in the immediate and intermediate geographical region in which it is located in the state of Minas Gerais, is national and even known worldwide as an international emigration hub, with the United States and Portugal as the major destinations. The internal migration, with other Brazilian municipalities as destinations, is also intense. Within this context of population loss, the objective of this work is to analyze an inverse population movement: the arrival of migrants to the municipality, specifically immigrants of Ceará state. As a methodology, bibliographic and documentary research were used, and fieldwork was also carried out in order to see the local aspects and daily practices of this group. Following the guidelines of Certeau (1998), we sought to walk around the neighborhood as a “voyeur-traveler”, observing everyday practices. It was found that the Ceará community created spaces within the neighborhood and close to it, reproducing their culture and keeping their identity alive. In the process of reterritorialization, these migrants end up creating a territory with hybrid characteristics, experiencing a constant multiterritoriality, as they maintain their identity ties and communication with Ceará, their place of origin, while experiencing all the territorialities of the place they chose for living.