Abstract

The urban transformation of Valparaíso reflects the recent arrival of migrant groups from Latin American countries. This study examines how these populations appropriate the city through trade, employing a theoretical approach to mobility. Through a multi-sited ethnographic investigation that includes diverse research techniques on movement and its triangulation, three modes of appropriation through commercial practices are analyzed. Some involve relatively mobile locations, others reveal the formation of commercial spaces that replicate local trends, while some emerge at the intersection with other urban uses. Transnational connections that foster specific forms of rootedness are also identified. The heterogeneity of these practices highlights migrant trade as a way of occupying, appropriating, and disputing urban space. However, these processes are not exempt from power inequalities that shape urban experiences. © (2024), (Universidad del Bío Bío). All Rights Reserved.