Abstract

The testimonies of a Mapuche woman as expressed in a reality show suggest an intricate relation between mass media, local community and kinship relations. Such is the object of the analysis. By turning back to the patrilocal pattern that rules over marriage and residence the case presented by the women - who confesses having no chance other than leaving the community after engaging with her brother-in-law, explains one part of the story. But the lack of institutional and social resources for confronting poverty explains the other part. Further understanding of political economy is required for making sense of this drama.