We present some of the results of a comparative ethnographic study, conducted over the last three years in both Buenos Aires (Argentina) and São Paulo (Brazil). The research proposed a regional scale perspective in order to compare the case of Bolivian immigrants, most of them who work and live, in some cases with their families, in clandestine textile workshops located in these two cities: center of São Paulo and south west area of Buenos Aires. This multi-sited ethnography took place in the work-home environment, in the health services, and among immigrant organizations and groups. The fieldwork was carried out combined participant observation, in depth interviews and the analysis of narratives, together with the compilation of a bibliography, its analysis and the use of secondary sources. The inquiry explores ways in which these immigrants experience their illness and how they describe, interpret, explain and act in relation to it. The analysis tracks their therapeutic itineraries focusing on two public health care centres: one in Buenos Aires and the other in São Paulo.

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Structural violence,tuberculosis,health care,Bolivian immigrants,Buenos Aires and São Paulo