Abstract
This article investigates the historical consolidation of the caipira civilization, its dismantling from structural changes in Brazilian society and the resilience of characteristics of an ancient rural culture. The objective is to follow the changes in the uses of the term caipira to understand the meaning attributed to it today by those who identify with that culture. It is concluded that the analyzed concept underwent an expressive semantic shift, due to the deep material and social transformations that the rural population of south-central Brazil underwent, as described by the Rural Sociology. Today, instead of the human type characteristic of rural neighborhoods, symbolic elements and identity references become central to designating individuals who consider themselves heirs of the caipira cultural matrix, thus expanding their meanings for various times, spaces and experiences.
Keywords:
Caipira culture; Rural world; Migration; Identity