Grupo Niche – 35 Aniversario

Grupo Niche was founded in 1978 in Cali, Colombia, by Jairo Varela and Alexis Lozano. Varela led the band until his death in 2012, also serving as its producer, songwriter, and vocalist. Lozano, who played trombone and was an arranger at the time, left the band to form Orquesta Guayacán.

Jairo Varela Martínez had long dreamed of forming a musical group, and in 1979, he fulfilled that dream by recording his first album. In 1980, after formalizing the orchestra, they began performing around Bogotá, mostly for close circles of acquaintances. Their first hit, “Buenaventura y Caney”, led the group to embark on their first U.S. tour in 1982. In 1984, Varela composed “Cali Pachanguero”, a song that launched Grupo Niche onto the global stage and posed the challenge of maintaining that success—a challenge they’ve continued to meet to this day.

Varela’s death in 2012 did not mark the end of Grupo Niche. As its founder, he had always envisioned the band’s continuity and built it in a way that made this possible. In 2013, the group released its first posthumous album, “Tocando el Cielo con las Manos”, achieving international success once again.

In 2015, Grupo Niche released a new musical project, recorded with the same rigor and excellence that always defined Jairo Varela’s leadership. Music critic Umberto Valverde commented on the release:

“The new Grupo Niche album is a unique project. ‘Let’s make a record of Jairo Varela’s songs that weren’t major hits,’ said José Aguirre—a musician and friend of the late singer—to his daughter, Yanila Varela, when she asked him to create a special album in celebration of the band’s 35th anniversary.”

“On the album, there’s a great song like ‘Primer mensaje’, which was virtually unheard of, except by a few collectors. The big surprise was discovering ‘Niche como yo’, because when you find that song and learn about its importance as Jairo Varela’s first track, it’s astonishing. It had been forgotten for 37 years,” Aguirre told me.

Yanila explained that she had developed a special bond with Aguirre when he served as Grupo Niche’s tour manager. As the 35th anniversary approached, she felt this new production had to be created by someone who had a close, both personal and musical, connection to her father.

“Back then, we were very close, often sharing long tours across Europe and talking a lot. Later, when I left the group, the friendship naturally faded. Then in December, she called and said she needed someone to produce for Niche and that everything she envisioned matched who I was. She told me, ‘I don’t need someone to replace my father. I need a musician who loves the group, who’s respected by the band, by the media, and by the fans. That person is you.’ It was an honor to be asked,” Aguirre recalled.

In the days leading up to Jairo Varela’s death, he had called José Aguirre, inviting him to play trumpet at a concert in Medellín and meet at the Niche Studios office that very Tuesday afternoon—the day he passed away.

“I had left the group 10 years earlier, except for some recording sessions. I had no ongoing contact with them. Jairo called and said there was a concert in Palmahía, Medellín. I was only supposed to play trumpet, so it surprised me when he personally gave me the setlist. He insisted that I shouldn’t play ‘Cali Pachanguero’ or ‘Cali Ají’ in Medellín, and that the set should end with ‘Listo Medellín’. He scheduled a meeting at his office, but I went to lunch with my wife at Chipichape first. When I called him later, no one answered. Then I called the office, and the secretary told me he had passed away. That meeting never happened. I still don’t know what Varela’s intentions were in rekindling that connection,” Aguirre said.

Always by His Side

Since May 1996, Yanila had been her father’s right-hand. Anyone who visited the musician at the Niche Studios on 5th Street would see their conversations frequently interrupted by calls from or to his daughter.

“At the end of the day, I talked more with my father than with my husband. If I didn’t answer because I was on another call, he’d call my husband’s phone or send me messages. In his final years, while writing his novel El amanecer de los pájaros, he would send it to me several times throughout the night. In the morning, we’d talk and he’d say: ‘If anything happens, you have the final version,’” Yanila shared.

Reflecting on the responsibility of leading Grupo Niche after her father’s death, Yanila said:

“I worked for over 16 years in my father’s shadow. I learned a lot, but when he passed away—so suddenly—my only priority was to ensure Grupo Niche wouldn’t disappear. That was his greatest wish: for the legacy to live on. I gathered my siblings and told them that if we worked as a team, we could keep the group and the family business alive.”

As part of that process, they secured legal recognition of the Jairo Varela trademark in favor of the family heirs, clarifying the legal status of Grupo Niche.

“It was a huge victory for us as his children because we felt the need to protect his name. Some people tried to take advantage of his passing—which is sadly to be expected—and that’s why we decided to shield ourselves,” she concluded.