New Immigrants, New Land

Book excerpt: "An incisive, nuanced, and multidimensional case study. Martes challenges and revises accepted notions of ethnic solidarity, and emphasizes how much more diversity exists among the Brazilian newcomers than typically has been recognized."--Marilyn Halter, Boston University "Provides a rich and detailed account of the varied motivations and experiences of Brazilian emigrants to the United States. Martes explores a number of topics, including economic strategies unique to the Brazilian community, the roles of Catholic and evangelical Protestant churches in the lives of Brazilian immigrants, and issues of ethnic and racial identity in the United States, where categories of 'race' are conceptualized quite differently than in Brazil."--Cassandra White, Georgia State University Ana Cristina Martes presents a sociodemographic profile of Brazilian immigrants in Boston and addresses the major challenges they face in their efforts to navigate complicated economic relationships in the U.S. Using an ethnographic approach, Martes unpacks the complex intragroup dynamics of this population with particular emphasis on work life, the role of the church, and the always churning issues of racial and ethnic identity formation. Originally published in Portuguese as Brasileiros Nos Estados Unidos, and heavily revised by the author for the English edition, New Immigrants, New Land offers an incisive, nuanced, and multidimensional case study of Brazilians in Massachusetts and the second largest Brazilian immigrant population in the United States.