What Does "Encanto" Mean In Spanish? - SpanishDict

Quick Answer

Encantocan be translated as charm, spell, charming, lovely, or darling.

Meaning of Encanto

We all know that we can’t talk about Bruno, but let’s talk about what encanto means in Spanish!

Disney’s Encanto hit the scene in 2021, and its earworm “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” topped the charts in the United States, Ireland, and the United Kingdom! With talk (or not) of Bruno all over the airwaves, you might be asking yourself, “What does encanto mean in Spanish anyway?”

Encanto is a masculine noun that can be translated as charm, spell, charming, lovely, or darling.

Encanto the Movie

In the movie Encanto, it’s likely that the choice of the word encanto is referring to the spell—or miracle—that gives the Madrigal family their powers. Nearly all the members of the Madrigal family, except poor Mirabel, have been granted special powers. Even the beloved family home, casita(home), is magical!

However, the translation spell is not the only use of the word encanto in the movie! If you listen to the lyrics in the last song in the movie, you’ll hear Carlos Vives sing: “Colombia, te quiero tanto. Que siempre me enamora tu encanto.” (Colombia, I love you so much. Your charm always makes me fall in love with you.)

How to Say Encanto in English

Let’s check out some examples of how we can use encanto in a sentence, and how this charm of a word can be translated into Spanish.

examples
Cantabria es una región que tiene mucho encanto. ¡Sus colinas verdes brillan como esmeraldas tras la lluvia! Cantabria is a region with a lot of charm. Its green hills sparkle like emeralds after the rain!
No puedes romper el encanto si no crees en ello. You can’t break the spell if you don’t believe in it.
¿Conoces a Pedro, el hijo de Ana y Juan? Es un encanto de niño. Do you know Pedro, Ana and Juan’s son? He’s a charming little boy.
Tu abuelita es un encanto. ¡Nos regaló unas galletas caseras! Your grandma is lovely. She gave us some homemade cookies!
Toma, encanto. Te hice esta tarjeta para el Día de San Valentín. Here you go, darling. I made you this card for Valentine’s Day.

Magic Realism in Encanto

The Madrigal family lives in Colombia, also home to Gabriel García Márquez, the undisputed king of magic realism. The directors of Encanto have talked about how Latin America’s magic realism influenced the movie. So, what is realismo mágico(magic realism)?

What is Magic Realism?

El realismo mágico, magic realism or magical realism, is a style of writing that seamlessly incorporates magic with reality. While authors throughout the world could arguably be credited with using this literary style, the most-well known authors working in this style are from Latin America. Have you read any books by Laura Esquivel, Isabel Allende, Jorge Luis Borges, or Gabriel García Márquez? They are some of the most prominent writers from Latinoamérica(Latin America) that use realismo mágico in their writing.

Magic Realism in Literature

Did you enjoy how magic blended with reality in Encanto? Check out these books that incorporate magic realism!

AUTHOR	BOOK	ENGLISH TITLE
Gabriel García Márquez	Cien años de soledad	One Hundred Years of Solitude
Isabel Allende	La casa de los espíritus	The House of Spirits
Jorge Luis Borges	Historia universal de la infamia	A Universal History of Iniquity
Juan Rulfo	Pedro Páramo	Pedro Páramo
Laura Esquivel	Como agua para chocolate	Like Water for Chocolate

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