The Brazilian Lodgers at the Immigration Museum

Visitors to the Immigration Museum can easily associate the former Brás Immigrant Hostel only with the arrival of foreigners. Its records alter that perspective: most of the people sheltered there were born in Brazil. To perceive this history during a visit, consider the building as a structure for reception, circulation, labor and assistance—and relate its spaces to journeys from Minas Gerais, the Northeast and other parts of the country.

Begin with the majority that is barely visible

The “Brazilians at the Hostel” virtual exhibition reports that, from the late nineteenth century until activities ended in the 1970s, the institution received Brazilians in very different circumstances. They included migrants, but also students, displaced or destitute people, patients, teachers and political prisoners.

This variety prevents a narrow interpretation of the word “hostel.” The building was not merely a stop between an international journey and a job. At different times, it formed part of labor, health, shelter and social-assistance policies. A more productive question to bring to the museum is therefore not only “which country did they come from?” but “why did these people arrive here, and what assistance or destination did they receive?”

Read the figures as a shift in scale

Museum research estimates that at least half of the more than 3.5 million people served during 91 years of operation were Brazilian nationals. Bahia, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco, Alagoas and Ceará were among the most significant origins. Between 1935 and 1939, Brazilians accounted for 96.3% of the 285,304 workers who entered the Hostel: 130,063 came from Bahia and 68,131 from Minas Gerais.

According to the study of the overlooked histories of internal migration, this predominance was connected to a policy shift. Subsidies for international immigration ended in 1927; the São Paulo government subsequently encouraged workers to come from other states. In 1939, it created the Migrant Workers Inspectorate, charged with collecting, directing and placing these workers.

The figures should not turn thousands of journeys into an indistinguishable mass. Their purpose is to correct the scale of the narrative: internal migration was not a marginal episode in the Hostel’s history.

Use the building as a map of arrival

The Hostel was a complex, not just the main building. It was built to receive, shelter and direct workers to jobs across the state. The official comparison of the spaces then and now helps reconstruct a sequence: arrival by railway or at nearby stations, reception and disinfection of luggage, registration, rest, meals and the search for employment.

When looking at the façade, notice that the 1936 renovation covered the exposed brickwork, replaced open verandas with arches and planters, and added the fountain with side ramps. Then consider the rooms functionally: offices controlled arrivals and departures; the employment agency brought workers and employers together; dormitories used mats, beds and bunks at different times.

The former dedicated station also broadens this reading. Some people disembarked at Brás or Roosevelt station and walked to the Hostel accompanied by employees. Later, trucks, buses and pau-de-arara vehicles became more important. These are material clues to the variety of routes into São Paulo.

Set spaces and objects beside a human voice

Oral history restores personal differences to the institutional route. Maria Rita Sodré, a migrant from Minas Gerais interviewed by the Museum, arrived around 1950, aged seven or eight, with her parents and seven siblings. The family traveled by train, passed through Brás station and stayed for more than a month because one sister was ill. Her memories include bunk beds, bathrooms, the dining hall, courtyard and medical care.

Former employee Ari Dotti, who worked at the institution from 1974 to 1980, described another phase: Brazilian families received rest, food and guidance in finding work or relatives. The contrast between childhood memory and an administrative account shows why no object speaks on its own. The article about the “Hostel of Stories” project also notes that many records from the final years of operation had not yet been digitized when the research was published.

During the visit, connect each space with concrete actions—waiting, bathing, eating, resting, receiving care or looking for work—without treating one person’s experience as representative of all the others.

Notice how the current exhibition reframes the story

The long-term exhibition “Migrar – Histórias Compartilhadas Sobre Nós” includes a module on internal migration, with photographs, texts, testimonies, newspapers and a cordel installation. Other modules cover journeys, Black and Indigenous displacement, and the Brazilian diaspora.

In the installation inspired by the Hostel beds, visitors can lie down and listen to migrants’ accounts and memories. Instead of seeking a single linear narrative, compare media: what does a map disclose about routes, what does a newspaper record about its time, and what does a voice add about fear, expectation or belonging? This comparison reveals both the collective scale and the singular nature of displacement.

Plan your visit with current information

The Immigration Museum is at Rua Visconde de Parnaíba, 1,316, Mooca, São Paulo. The closest metro station is Bresser-Mooca; the official directions say to take the right-hand exit and follow Rua Visconde de Parnaíba in a straight line to number 1,316.

Opening hours, admission, free-entry policies, accessibility and activities may change. Before leaving, consult the official Visit the Museum page. It also explains the rules for photography, independent visits and groups. As preparation, the virtual exhibition about Brazilians is a valuable first reading: it lets you enter the building knowing that the Hostel’s history is also, decisively, a history of migration within Brazil.