Carmen Marsico & Zafarán

About us

Carmen Marsico & Zafarán crosses time and boundaries, and incorporates traditions from all over the Mediterranean, with a focus on the folk traditions of Southern Italy as well as Romani migration patterns.

The group performs a variety of music spanning from Turkey to Greece and Southern Italy, Cape Verde, Spain, and Portugal, as well as traditional and modern Romani repertoire.

Zafarán's members are Carmen Marsico, voice; Björn Wennås, guitars & mandola; Dan Meyers, recorders, percussion; Davide Roberto, percussion.

*CURIOSITY*
Zafarán comes from the word Arab traders used to describe the dried and ground long red peppers from Senise, (PZ), which to them looked a bit like saffron. The name was then adopted into the dialect of Basilicata, Italy, where Carmen is from.