Rebuscadores de la calle: a Photograph of the Working Poor in Bogotá

Abstract

Using qualitative methodologies, this paper offers a contribution to the very recent literature on rebusque by characterizing the practice of the social grouping that I will refer to as «street rebuscadores» in Bogotá. Based on eighteen months of ethnographic research in the localities of Ciudad Bolívar and Suba (2012-2014), this paper draws on Bourdieu’s theory of practice, particularly on the concepts of habitus and capital, to argue that street rebuscadores share a similar volume and composition of overall capital (or habitus), as well as various practices associated with their habitus. Within that theoretical framework, this paper describes and analyses four common practices of street rebuscadores, in the hope of shedding some light on the logic underneath those practices. Ultimately, my political goal is also to give some visibility to the most vulnerable segment of the working poor.