The purpose of this article is to explore how Colombian migrants live their first years in Santiago de Chile and contribute to the process of building plural societies. The research shows how the concepts of social imaginary and otherness are useful to study recent migratory processes. Colombian immigration - in the context of South-South migration - is particularly complex given its association with phenomena such as drug trafficking and violence, as well as due to the "racial" and socioeconomic heterogeneity of its participants. On the basis of semi-structured interviews, this work shows that Colombians tend to incorporate themselves quickly and satisfactorily into work and social spaces in Santiago, but their experiences and expectations about "living as a Chilean" differ according to the socioeconomic level, the relationships they establish with others and their experiences of stereotypes, discrimination and racism in Chile.

El artículo propone una reflexión sobre cómo la interseccionalidad ha sido utilizada en investigaciones recientes sobre migraciones en Chile. Recurriendo a teóricas latinoamericanas, se expone el recorrido político-teórico de la noción para argumentar su uso como una perspectiva de investigación, así como para enunciar su valor explicativo respecto de las migraciones Sur-Sur. Basadas en la revisión de un conjunto de artículos publicados en revistas indexadas entre 2014 y 2020, las autoras afirman que la interseccionalidad en los estudios migratorios ha permitido, entre otros, avanzar en el entendimiento del racismo y la sexualización de mujeres y niñas migrantes. En menor medida, y lo que supone un desafío para contribuciones futuras, las autoras argumentan cómo las perspectivas interseccionales han contribuido además a visibilizar las resistencias a dichas opresiones.

No abstract

The article seeks to understand how migrant families bring life to restaurants that evoke their countries of origin. These spaces and culinary proposals are not a simple reproduction, but negotiated interpretations of culture itself during migration processes and are analyzed from a transnational approach. The methodology is based on interviews and participant observations carried out in four foreign restaurants located in Greater Valparaíso, Chile. The article contributes to the production of knowledge about migrants who have capital, exploring performances, symbols, and culinary practices that selectively show their national culture. It is concluded that these restaurants can be considered bridges between cultures by linking multiple scales with imaginaries, representations, and emotions. It articulates a discussion on ethnic economies, cultural transformations, and the production of evolving migrant identities while extending studies on recent migrations in Chile.