“When I discovered I was índia”: racialization processes in the migratory experiences of peruvians in Rio Janeiro

Abstract

In this article, I reflect upon the ways in which Peruvians in Rio de Janeiro negotiate their process of racialization, based on the category Indian and their interaction with me, a Black Brazilian woman. Despite the fact that Indian is part of both the Brazilian and Peruvian racial classification system, this category has particular meanings in each context. When they “discover” they are Indians”, Peruvians face the specificities of anti-Indigenous racism in the urban context of Rio de Janeiro. They also deal with discrimination within the Peruvian community. This article analyzes the case of Peruvians who create self-definitions (Hill-Collins, 2016), both individually and collectively, that challenge stereotypes of peruanidad. Racialization also opens up possibilities for anti-racist solidarity between Peruvians and Black Brazilians. My research is based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out in Brazil and the United States from 2011 to 2016.