Migrant entrepreneurship, value-creation practices and urban transformation in São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract


 
 
 
 This paper examines the entrepreneurial practices of migrants, including refugees, establishing and operating businesses providing food, hospitality, leisure, tourism and events-related services and experiences. Drawing on empirical data gathered in São Paulo, Brazil, the study conceptualises how migrants create cultural ‘goods’ (encompassing material objects, services and experiences), which have been subjected to valuation processes. The paper considers the practices through which migrants mobilise identities, histories, and culturally-specific knowledge as resources in constructing experiential propositions. Moreover, we distinguish between five sets of practices: objectification of self; aestheticisation of otherness; authentication of place-specific food experiences; constructing hospitality venues as cultural spaces; and vitrine-ing (creating platforms for showcasing migrant talent). We discuss the potential consequences of these practices for migrants, consumers, urban environments and their residents, and identify avenues for future research.
 
 
 

Channelling mobilities: migrant-owned businesses as mobility infrastructures

“…Coumba's cooking can be understood here as a specific conjunction of cultural and human capital in a context of predominantly male immigration. In contrast to some other 'African' restaurants in the neighbourhood (Lugosi and Allis 2019), this small Senegalese restaurant does not construct an image of an authentic Senegalese or African ambiance in order to attract a Brazilian middle-class clientele. There are no cultural artifacts which would differentiate this restaurant from any small Brazilian eatery in the area; solely a simple banner by the window identifies the place as a Senegalese restaurant.…”

“…The ethnic framing of migrants' businesses in Portugal has also been used to understand the establishment of 'ethnic food' restaurants, where one can find Brazilian churrasco, Cape Verdean cachupa, Angolan moamba, or Chinese delicacies. Migrants' mobilisation of ethnic resources is imagined to reinforce a sense of 'authenticity', which attracts local middle-classes in search for 'exotic' food (Lugosi and Allis 2019). The territorialisation of migrants' commercial activities has given rise to specific 'migrantscapes' (Gésero 2014) in Portuguese cities, such as the Martim Moniz neighbourhood in Lisbon, sometimes described in tourist guides as Lisbon's 'Chinatown'.…”

Exploring the hospitality-tourism nexus: Directions and questions for past and future research

“…Such initiatives may help to reinvigorate community pride and identification, and revitalise cultural practices. The ability to create value can also drive innovation in developing new food, drink and hospitality-related practices that are integrated into tourism infrastructures (Lugosi and Allis, 2019; Sørensen et al, 2020).…”

Hospitalidade, turismo e lazer

“…Somente nos últimos anos é que o grupo britânico coordenado por Lashley e Morrison (2005) resgatou a amplitude socioantropológica do termo. Assim, inversamente, lá este estudo começou pelo turismo e agora, com Lugosi (Lugosi & Allis, 2019), chega aos migrantes que não deixam suas origens por simples desejo de uma nova vida, mas como refugiados, como expulsos de suas terras.…”