This article explores the identity representations concerning the different Brazilian cities, as expression of the dynamics of rivalry between them. In this sense, the article questions the discourse regarding the city of São Paulo, which considers it to be, basically, a city of work, the “locomotive” of Brazil and, therefore, a symbol for the development of the country. One of the main objectives is to show that the notion of work created in Western, European modernity models the ideology regarding the cities, such as, for example, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. Postcards purchased in September 2002 (at Congonhas Airport, before a flight from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro; and at Santos Dumont Airport, in Rio, before the return flight) are understood, in the analysis proposed here, as visual metaphors, and some musical compositions are sound metaphors. Thus, they constitute the main source of data for the study.
Cities; Social representations; Stigmas; Work; Employment