This work presents a study on the socio-cultural processes of tourism in the locality of Ilha da Pintada/Porto Alegre/RS. The traditional inhabitants of the Ilha da Pintada were employed in fishing and livestock farming, but various changes in the modern world have altered this situation, causing many of these people to look for new jobs. Others have continued with their traditional activities, adapting to the new demands. Tourism emerges as an important agent of change in this community, which receives excursionists and second-home tourists, the latter of high social class, stamping on the locality lifestyles which are very different from those traditionally cultivated. This study focuses, through the ethonographic method, on the residents’ perspective of the tourists. It seeks to understand the popular traditional culture and its relation to modernity, based on the concept of hybrid cultures of García Canclini. It also seeks to understand tourism as a phenomenon which promotes changes in the modern world, and not as an isolated process. Key words: Tourism – Anthropology – culture – socio-cultural processes.