Abstract

The article deals with the genesis and building of frontier territories by immigrants Santiago de Chile, specifically in La Chimba, north of the Mapocho River. The settling of this frontier territory is analyzed based on historical, sociological, georeferencing and ethnographic evidence. The central thesis suggests that frontier living is created and becomes a source of empowerment and citizenship when the conformation of the spaces that are host to the immigrants and provide them with protection are able to nourish and broaden the field of possibilities beyond mere survival. The conclusion is that at La Chimba, the active and fulfilling lives of the immigrants rise from a paradox: the possibility of finding shelter and setting roots (conditions determined by a sense of community and social safety nets), on the one hand; and itinerants and movement (conditions of transcending constraints of local identity and achievement of connectivity), on the other. This paradox assures the preservation of the inhabitants' identities within a multicultural environment while maintaining fluidity of connections with situations beyond the frontiers of the neighborhood, the city and the country.