So close yet so far: DIY Cultures in Portugal and Brazil

Abstract

This article analyses how different forms of involvement in underground punk and/or alternative scenes develop into specific do-it-yourself (DIY) careers. From a corpus of 214 interviews, the various DIY representations of social practices held by Portuguese punk scene members are studied, especially regarding the way they experience and develop knowledge, networks, and skills. These social representations are particularly important in terms of their insertion into the labour market. At the same time, the centrality of DIY in Brazil's funk, electronica, and alternative rock scenes is compared with the Portuguese punk context through a recent analysis carried out in Brazil with 32 members of those scenes - mostly women - showing the importance of DIY beyond punk and the Global North.