Border careers in context: hybrid cultural identity in the narratives of musicians and chefs in a Brazil-Uruguay border region

Carreras fronterizas en contexto: identidad cultural híbrida en las narrativas de músicos y chefs en una región fronteriza entre Brasil y Uruguay

This article analyzes how the hybridity of Brazilian and Uruguayan cultures is expressed in cultural identity and career development in the Peace Border, in the twin cities of Sant’Ana do Livramento and Rivera. We carried out qualitative research based on ten narrative interviews, complemented by direct observation of the work of musicians and chefs who consider border cultural identity as a defining feature of their careers. As a key outcome, we developed the concept of border careers to refer to professional trajectories characterized by work repertoires grounded in a border identity, that is, an identity shaped by a border culture understood as a hybridity between cultures capable of generating something new. In border careers, professional paths are constructed in an inseparable relationship with the cultural identity of an in-between space, which is neither fixed nor stable but continuously evolving.

Keywords:
hybridity; cultural identity; border culture; careers in context