Segunda geração ontem e hoje: continuidades e transformações nas experiências sino-brasileiras

Abstract

This article presents the life narratives of two “second generations” of Chinese immigration to Brazil and proposes a comparative analysis between them. The first group of interviewees consists of 8 Chinese-Brazilians between 40 and 60 years old, whose families settled in Curitiba during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, where they opened pastry shops and snack bars. All were born and grew up in Brazil, with the exception of Sérgio, who was born in Mozambique and moved to Brazil as a child after living briefly in Portugal, and Lucilina and Pedro, who lived for about a year in Hong Kong when they were children, returning to Curitiba afterwards. The second cut consists of Ronaldo, aged 19 at the time of the interview, whose family moved to Brazil in the mid-1990s – Ronaldo was born in Brazil, his family returned to China after his birth, for 3 or 4 years later settle in Brazil again. After spending a few years in Minas Gerais, the family moved to São Paulo, where they invested in a menswear manufacturing company, together with a partner. Today, he continues to operate in the business through the streetwear brand, founded by Ronaldo in 2020, SHUI.