Based upon an ethnographical perspective, this paper deals with the complex subject of borders. The border is seen from the viewpoint of its relevance for the Valadarenses, citizens of Governor Valadares, a town in Minas Gerais known as a center of international emigration in Brazil. The paper is divided in two parts; the first part examines the relation between the Governor Valadares migratory flows and diverse geopolitical borders faced by these migrants; and the second part describes a cultural dynamic among the poor population of Valadares, the construction of Houses (in Lévi-Straussian sense). The relation between the two processes indicates that the intense division of the familiar nuclei stimulates the intensity of the crossing of the geopolitical borders.
borders; family; Governor Valadares; international emigration