Se aborda la fotografia de familia de final del siglo XIX y principios del XX como un escenario complejo donde se redefinen y negocian identidades transnacionales en el marco de la migracion italiana de dicha epoca. Nos centramos especialmente en el papel de la mujer a la hora de regular esos flujos simbolicos. Mediante una mirada etnografica multisituada, nos adentramos en las estrategias y artimanas con la que las mujeres distribuian el capital simbolico, que se reflejaban en la fotografia. Hallamos que, a pesar del contexto de moralidad en la que estaban encalladas, lograban ejercer un poder simbolico muy sofisticado. Concluimos que ese poder se colaba en los sistemas de metaforizacion que regulaban las relaciones sociales y, que, a diferencia del ejercido por el hombre, no se definia en contraposicion a ningun sistema; todo lo contrario, su influencia no necesita de legitimacion: son actos a la vez privados y publicos, subjetivos e intersubjetivos; es decir, tienen un caracter multisituado. Palabras clave Migracion transnacional, etnografia multisituada, dispositivo simbolico, performatividad, rol, poder. Abstract We approach family photography at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century as a complex scenario where transnational identities are redefined and negotiated within the framework of the Italian migration of that era. We focus especially on the role of women in regulating these symbolic flows. Through a multi-sited ethnographic perspective, we delve into the strategies and tricks with which women distributed symbolic capital, which was reflected in photography. We find that, despite the context of morality in which they were stuck, they managed to exert a very sophisticated symbolic power. We conclude that this power slipped into the systems of metaphorization that regulated social relations and that, unlike that exercised by man, was not defined in opposition to any system; on the contrary, their influence does not need legitimization: they are both private and public, subjective and intersubjective acts; that is, they have a multiset character. Keywords Transnational migration, multisite ethnography, symbolic device, performativity, role, power.