cantautor

singer-songwriter

noun kan-tow-TOHR Rare

Usage Note

Cantautor is a blend of cantante (singer) and autor (author/composer), describing an artist who both writes and performs their own songs. The feminine form is cantautora. The term is closely tied to the Spanish and Latin American protest-song tradition of the 1960s-70s, but is used broadly today for any self-writing solo performer.

Examples

"El cantautor tocó sus propias canciones."

Natural Translation

The singer-songwriter performed his own songs.

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