'And now I am here . . . , but then we were there': space and social positioning in Andalusian migrants' narratives

This article explores an identity-related narrative collectively constructed by a group of Andalusian (Southern Spain) migrants settled in Aarhus, Denmark, in a focus-group interview that belongs to a larger corpus of data. Linking up to previous narrative work in which the role of space is claimed as a structuring element of stories, I present a migrants' narrative where the contrast between the 'here' in the host country and the 'there' of the homeland constitutes the cornerstone of the ideas presented and used for identity work in the interaction observed. I argue that these narratives were performed in interaction and were constrained by the focus group as a special communicative event, shaped by and shaping the interviewer's and her interlocutors' rhetorical actions. I also point out some resonances between the arguments deployed by the participants and the 'master narrative' of Andalusian identity. In the story analysed, as in other 'narratives of displacement', spacial landmarks trigger the enacting and representing of different social identifications and cultural belongings in participants.