Duende
Etymology
In everyday Spanish, duende means a "goblin," "imp," or house-spirit; it likely contracts an older phrase like dueño de casa, "master of the house," the sprite thought to haunt a home. The artistic sense was crystallized by the poet Federico García Lorca in a 1933 lecture, who cast duende as a dark, earth-bound power an artist must summon — distinct from a muse or an angel. That literary redefinition, not ordinary usage, is the source of the meaning English borrowed.
noun · /DWEN-deh/
A surge of heightened, soulful authenticity in a performance or artwork — the quality that makes it feel dangerous, alive, and true.
What it names
The moment a singer or dancer stops being merely skilled and seems to be gripped by something, pulling the audience past admiration into awe.
Example
The recording was technically flawless, but it was the live take — cracked notes and all — that had real duende.
Related idea
A muse inspires from outside and above; duende is felt as rising from within and below, closer to struggle and mortality than to grace.