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-ero, -ista - Working with Suffixes

Abre el baúl, mueve la candela... -Slow... Señor Maquinitero.

Open the trunk, move the candle... -Slow... Mister Mix Master.

Captions 7-8, ChocQuibTown Interview - Eso es lo que hay

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In our exclusive interview with ChocQuibTown, we meet the band, including its leader ("líder"), bass player ("bajista"), and a guy named Slow, who describes himself as Señor Maquinitero. Señor what?? After watching Slow busy at work on turntables, with equalizers and computer cords all around, it makes sense to conclude that he's calling himself something close to "Mister Mix Master," as we translated in the captions. You see, una máquina is "a machine." The diminutive maquinita is "a little machine" or "a video game." Finally, the suffix "-ero" can be added to a noun to create a new word that describes somebody who works with that noun. Here are a few examples:

 

Yo iba a ser jugador de Millonarios o, en su defecto, ingeniero constructor de puentes.

I was going to be a Millonarios (soccer) player or if that falls through, a bridge building engineer.

Captions 30-31, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 3 - Part 6

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Aprendió todos los oficios: vaquero, mayoral, domador de potros.

He learned all the trades: cowboy, shepherd, horse-breaker.

Caption 18, Europa Abierta - Jassin Daudi - Con arte

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zapato (shoe) + -ero = zapatero (cobbler or shoe salesman)
vaca (cow) + -ero = vaquero (cowboy)
ingeniería (engineering) + -ero = ingeniero (engineer)

rap (as in rap music) + -ero = rapero (rapper, rap artist)

Knowing your suffixes helps decode words that you might not find in your dictionaries -- like maquinitero or rapero. But note that Spanish has more than one suffix for professionals or tradespeople. For example, a standard Spanish dictionary lists someone who works with machines (e.g. to fabricate parts) as un maquinista ("a machinist"). Some more:

bajo (bass) + -ista = bajista (bass player)
batería (drums) + -ista = baterista
(drummer)
taxi (taxi) + -ista = taxista (taxi driver)

 

Eh... toco... toco tarola... Batería, baterista. -baterista de Banda Pioneros.

Um... I play... I play the snare drum... Drums, drummer. -the drummer of Banda Pioneros.

Captions 4-5, Banda Pioneros - ¡Conócelos!

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A few nouns can have either -ero or -ista added to them to form new words, like the all important fútbol (soccer). Note that the definitions are slightly different:

Futbolero = soccer supporter
Futbolista = soccer player

But don't make sweeping generalizations about -ero vs -ista from the sporty example above. For example, a professional "bookseller" is a "librero" while a "book lover" or "book worm" is "amante de los libros," "un bibliófilo" or "ratón de biblioteca." Knowing the suffixes can help you along, but some memorization is required to get the details right (as in English).
 

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Finally, we want to clarify: You might have noticed that the suffix -ista always ends in a, regardless of the gender of the person who's being described. With words like futbolista and taxista, you must rely on the articles to get the gender across. For example:

La futbolista = the female soccer player
Un taxista = a male taxi driver

Grammar

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