Kichwa-Otavalo migrations in Bogota

This article explores the singularities of Kichwa-Otavalo migrants in Bogota. With seventy years of historical presence in this city that includes continual relationships not only between people in Colombia and Ecuador, but at the worldwide level as well, this population constitutes a complex and significant case for migration studies. On the one hand, it raises the question of transnational relations where the "place of origin" has been dislocated through secondary foci around which the population is articulated. On the other hand, it illustrates the importance of migratory networks with respect to recognition by the state. Thus, we show different forms of integration into the city and suggest that a central determining factor of living conditions in the city is tied to people's relative position to established migratory networks.