Marco is a folk musician from Galicia - a region in the northwest corner of Spain with Celtic and Gaelic origins. The people speak their own language called Galician. It’s closer to Portuguese than Spanish. The music of the region has more in common with Brittany, Wales and Ireland than Spanish music from Castille or Andalusia. It’s Celtic music with a Spanish influence. They even have their own bagpipes, called the Gaita.

Marco decided to create a music based essentially upon traditional folk music, but with harmonic and rhythmic structures that are richer and more complex. He uses many instruments such as bagpipes, flutes, the tin-whistle, the violin, the accordion, keyboards, the guitar, and the lute. He also incorporates the electric bass and drums with Galician Folk Music. His influences include jazz, the European and American sounds, plus the rich Galician musical tradition. He turns the traditional into contemporary. He performs instrumental pieces as well as some in which he sings.

For an idea of what Marco’s music might sound like, go here:  http://www.milladoiro.com/VIDEOCLIP.htm  and download the video clip by a band from the region called Milladoiro. Or go to this page to download various MP3 files by them:  http://www.milladoiro.com/downloads_mp3.htm

He is a successful recording artist but, he is not a pop music kind of performer and only occasionally gets played on Top 40 radio. The name of Marco’s band is Róisín Dubh which means Black Rose in Gaelic. Although they’re not “pop” music icons, they are well known in certain music circles. Marco has also composed music for an occasional movie soundtrack.

Raven Cantrell:

“I first met him shortly after we were brought to Cornerstone. He was shopping in an antique store and he had a couple of questions about a piece that the owner couldn’t answer. I just chimed in to help. He’s in town working on his next CD. There’s an old recording studio here that has unique acoustics that he wanted to experiment with. It turns out that this studio is a short walk from that bookstore that I’ve been visiting everyday. Marco takes his coffee breaks there.” Raven spoke as if she had discovered a rare treasure. “He likes old books.” “Anyway, I helped him with the translation of a poem and he bought me coffee to say thanks. Before long, having coffee together at the bookstore became a regular thing that we both looked forward to.”

After about three weeks of daily coffees together, Marco and Raven began dating. It’s been a little over a month since they became a couple. The two of them seem to get along well and care for each other. Marco is a well-mannered gentleman who comes across as genuinely warm and friendly.

He stands about 5' 9" with dark eyes and black, wavy hair that he wears a little long - sometimes loose, other times pulled into a ponytail. He usually wears black leather boots that add an inch or two to his height, and he seems to prefer dark colored clothing.