Grupo Niche explains how they are preserving Jairo Varela’s legacy, their reasons for continuous touring, and how each member preserves their unique essence. The band discusses the success of "Cali Pachanguero," their acclaimed album 'Niche Sinfónico,' and the honor of winning a Grammy for it, and more!
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MusicTranscript
00:00Cali, Parchanguero,
00:02someone from here, someone from here is the most flirtatious.
00:06I have a deep love,
00:08and I know they have a deep love
00:10for Maestro Jairo Varela and for this group, Niche.
00:12Hey, what's up, people? We are the singers
00:14of the group Niche.
00:15And you're watching Billboard News.
00:21Hello everyone.
00:22Today we welcome Billboard
00:24to the singers of the group Niche.
00:30Gentlemen,
00:32you have no idea how excited I am to have you here
00:34because I'm from Cali,
00:36because I grew up with the group Niche,
00:38because I've never had you all sitting here like this.
00:42The last time I spoke to the group Niche
00:43was with Jairo Varela.
00:45So, a lot of time has passed.
00:48So, what are you doing in New York? Tell me.
00:50Well, happy to bring our Parchanguero tour.
00:55We've been celebrating this iconic song for 40 years.
00:59This great tour started in Australia,
01:02we went through Europe,
01:03we went through Central America, America,
01:05and we are now in North America,
01:09sharing with you this beautiful legacy
01:11that Maestro Jairo Varela and his group Niche have left us.
01:15Now, are you doing more tours?
01:17I don't think so,
01:18because when Jairo was alive,
01:19he played every weekend,
01:21but now I get the feeling that Niche...
01:23I get the press releases and I say,
01:25but these people don't stop.
01:27What happened?
01:28Why is there so much emotion with Niche after so long?
01:31Thank God, it's a blessing.
01:33We really enjoy it a lot.
01:36As you say, our schedule starts in January and ends in January.
01:40We pack our bags and leave in January
01:43and come back the next day to change our bags.
01:46We always say it jokingly, but it's a reality.
01:49We really enjoy the love of all the Niche fans around the world.
01:54The Niche fans.
01:55The Niche fans.
01:55That's what we call the fans of the Niche group.
01:57Are you a Niche fan?
01:58I'm a Niche fan, baby.
02:01Of the originals.
02:03Of the originals.
02:04Yes, yes, yes.
02:05Are you surprised when you go to North Carolina,
02:08because I've seen them do tours of all kinds of cities,
02:12and that people know the songs and are dancing?
02:15Or what kind of audience do you find?
02:17We are the Niche fans.
02:21Men!
02:21You realize every day how big this group is.
02:25The immense work that Maestro Jairo Varela did with his works.
02:29Because right now, with all this,
02:31this movement of people who want to learn to dance salsa,
02:34who set up academies internationally,
02:36people learn to dance with the music of the Niche group.
02:39And well, the music has become very popular,
02:43the work of Maestro Jairo Varela.
02:45So much so that you go to places like North Carolina,
02:49we go to Australia,
02:50we see people who don't speak a pinch of Spanish,
02:52but they do know the songs,
02:54they know the cuts of the songs,
02:56they learned to dance with those songs,
02:58so they have that Niche group in their DNA.
03:02Well, I want to ask each one of you
03:04if you remember the first time you heard Cali Pachanguero.
03:07Cali Pachanguero
03:13I have a very beautiful and very special anecdote that has marked me.
03:17Cali Pachanguero came out the year I was born.
03:22It was the first song that I learned
03:25singing in a musical group.
03:27And at that moment, God gave me the blessing
03:30and this great institution
03:32of being able to perform the 40 years of Cali Pachanguero.
03:35Wow!
03:37I have a memory.
03:39I was four years old
03:41and I had won the Cali Sports Award.
03:45You have it in your memory.
03:47I had won the Cali Sports Award
03:50and my uncle,
03:52I have an uncle named Fernando Leicentino,
03:54so the sports, the sports,
03:56the sports were the news,
03:58so the head of the news said that
04:01Cali champion
04:03and he had the tune
04:05that was the first time I remember
04:07that I heard Cali Pachanguero
04:09I remember that
04:11and Cali Pachanguero is the popular anthem of us
04:17Sometimes Cali Pachanguero is more popular
04:19than the anthem of the city of Cali.
04:21Can you sing for me here?
04:24Here, 30 seconds of Cali Pachanguero.
04:27Can you do it in a cappella?
04:29Yes!
04:31One, two, three, four
04:34Cali Pachanguero
04:38Cali, light of the new sky
04:42Cali, Pachanguero
04:47Cali, light of the new sky
04:51With romantic moon
04:53With romantic moon
04:55And the light of the night
04:57Of looking at your valley
04:59Do you like it?
05:01I love it.
05:03It's a very danceable song,
05:05very popular, but very complicated
05:07in the metal arrangements
05:09they are very complicated
05:11the rhythms are complicated
05:13When you stand on the stage
05:16and make all this sound so easy
05:18are there moments when you think
05:20wow, this music is complex?
05:22Wow, first of all
05:24I think that
05:26reaching the heart
05:28of the salsero, of the dancer
05:30is a genius
05:32Maestro Jairo Varela
05:34in building, in making
05:36even all the arrangement of this song
05:38that this song is also a lament
05:40of someone who was in New York
05:42and many people
05:45when they listen to this song
05:47they begin to digest
05:49all this idea of this song
05:51but that identifies
05:53all of Hispanoamerica
05:55identifies all the salsero
05:57as my partner Ales said
05:59identifies all the salsero groups
06:01that started and have grown with this music
06:03and became a myth
06:05And how are four singers
06:07very different
06:09distinguished
06:11in a group that sings
06:14because they are recording
06:16unpublished music
06:18but also these great standards
06:20of the repertoire
06:22How is each one distinguished?
06:24Each one has its essence
06:26that finally puts it
06:28in favor of the collective
06:30of the group Niche
06:32The real task
06:34the strong task has the musical director
06:36José Aguirre
06:38who is in charge of
06:40assigning the songs
06:43Of course, look at the profile of each one
06:45Horrible
06:47I want them to fight
06:49I just want to ask
06:51He is looking for that
06:53No one wants anyone
06:55No one wants anyone
06:59We all hate each other
07:03It is that we spend more time
07:05between us than with our
07:07blood families
07:09because it is in our second family
07:12and we really feel it
07:14and we spend a lot of time together
07:16so we have to get along
07:18I want to say something
07:20before
07:22being here
07:24we dreamed of being here
07:26we have
07:28different aspects
07:30of musical information
07:32but we also
07:34formed with Grupo Niche
07:36and that unites us
07:38because at some point
07:41we sang music of Grupo Niche
07:43and we dreamed of belonging here
07:45already being here
07:47we understand and recognize
07:49that we are here for something
07:51we have to have some ingredient
07:53so that we can fit
07:55within this family
07:57we are not going to make life impossible
07:59we are not going to step into the hose
08:01and we must not deny it
08:03I am next to some titans
08:05here there are three brothers
08:07we are four but I can take the face
08:09because they sing a lot
08:11I learn from them
08:13I admire them
08:15and I have a deep love
08:17and I know they have a deep love
08:19for Maestro Jairo Varela
08:21and Grupo Niche
08:23we will always try to do
08:25what is within our reach
08:27to leave our country on top
08:29to leave Grupo Niche on top
08:31so that everything comes out excellent
08:33we are not going to fight
08:35we are going to help each other
08:38you are a group that
08:40everyone dreams to be
08:42I imagine that this audition
08:44and they say this is the voice
08:46I need, this is the man
08:48I need, this is the figure
08:50I need, you must have
08:52this took a lot of work
08:54yes
08:56first of all I think that
08:58each one of us here
09:00has the ability to defend
09:02every song
09:04of Maestro Jairo Varela
09:07everyone can be
09:09anyone
09:11some of these guys
09:13will defend this repertoire
09:15they know it very well
09:17and if we talk about the musical part
09:19first, second, third, sing it
09:21but the most important thing is that this was already done
09:23and you have to do it exclusively
09:25as Maestro Jairo Varela did
09:27but speaking of that
09:29Niche has done very adventurous things
09:31lately
09:33and when I say Niche
09:36you did the symphonic Niche
09:38you did the album of the 40
09:40which was an unpublished album
09:42what keeps you
09:44doing all these new things?
09:46you have to remember
09:48that Maestro Varela
09:50was always at the forefront
09:52he always made proposals
09:54that not only fed
09:56the follower of Niche
09:58years ago
10:00but looking to capture new audiences
10:02new generations
10:05new followers
10:07new Nichistas
10:09as we call them
10:11and with the album 40
10:13in this case
10:15I think that this transition
10:17between the lyrics
10:19of Maestro Varela
10:21and the new proposals
10:23of the Niche group
10:25without him
10:27in his physical presence
10:29with this album we have captured
10:31a very young audience
10:34that posts stories
10:36singing Buscame Soltero
10:38successes that have been
10:40unleashed from this album
10:42and we have to remember
10:44the Grammys
10:46that we had the blessing
10:48to take home
10:50Latin Grammy
10:52then came this huge project
10:54that was with the National Symphony
10:56of Colombia
10:58that for all of us here
11:00has been something unimaginable
11:03maybe in my career
11:05we did not think
11:07to reach those levels
11:09to be on a stage
11:11with all that orchestra
11:13it is something that is
11:15magisterial
11:17and we also managed
11:19to take a Grammy home
11:21a Latin Grammy last year
11:23with the National Symphony Orchestra
11:25of Colombia
11:27we continue to create music
11:29we continue to capture the hearts
11:32of the Niche group
11:34that has followed us for so many years
11:36now I as a Caleña
11:38whenever I hear Cali Pachanguero
11:40anywhere in the world
11:42I feel so happy
11:44because it is like
11:46I don't know
11:48my passport to the world
11:50you feel like ambassadors
11:52and you also feel
11:54that you are an example
11:56in Colombia
11:58for other artists
12:01Yes, we assume it
12:03Maestro Jairo Varela
12:05or us
12:07the musicians
12:09Colombians
12:11we owe a lot to Maestro Jairo Varela
12:13because he gave a status to Salsero
12:15he gave a form to Salsero
12:17he put a stamp
12:19besides the musical
12:21because also
12:23in the musical concept
12:25of Colombian Salsa
12:27has a lot to do
12:30with Maestro Jairo Varela
12:32and the sound of the Niche group
12:34and of course we feel like ambassadors
12:36first of the legacy of Maestro Jairo Varela
12:38of the Niche group
12:40and we feel like ambassadors
12:42of Colombian music
12:44Salsa has a separate piece
12:46there in Cali
12:48and we are a representation
12:50of that piece
12:52not only of Cali
12:54the Pacific of Colombia
12:56and behind the Niche group
12:59that today
13:01they are going around the world
13:03and leaving the flag
13:05of the Colombian Salsero
13:07very high
13:09so we feel very happy
13:11and responsible
13:13to take that good name
13:15and leave it high
13:17First, in two words
13:19how do you describe the music
13:21of the Niche group
13:23two words
13:25great
13:28and Colombian
13:30majestic
13:32and legacy
13:34different
13:38poetic
13:40identity
13:44the sound of Colombian Salsa
13:46there were like 18 words
13:48but the sound
13:50the sound
13:52and
13:54the sound
13:56what makes this sound unique
13:58in your opinion
14:00I have mine
14:02but I would love to hear yours
14:04Maestro Jairo Varela
14:06had very clear what he wanted
14:08he had a sound
14:10normally
14:12in musical terms
14:14when a song sounds
14:16and there are maracas
14:18the maraca goes
14:22well
14:25it continues
14:31so what did he like
14:33he did not like that the singer
14:35lengthened the notes
14:37because a person who normally does not sing
14:39can not lengthen notes
14:41so he liked
14:43I do not know how to tell you I love you
14:45but I surrender
14:47and that made people feel
14:49identified with that
14:51and could sing
14:54another thing
14:56sometimes he had six musicians
14:58trumpets and trombones
15:00he liked to start with a trumpet
15:04and over there in the mambo
15:06the trombones
15:08he put very dynamic
15:10those are things
15:12that people do not notice
15:14but that made
15:16the sound very particular
15:18and makes the sound of the group
15:20very particular
15:23he sometimes put first, second, third voices
15:25and he sometimes did things unison
15:27so that it was more digestible
15:29to the listener's ear
15:31and people would like to go
15:33to see that
15:35also
15:37the peaceful influence
15:39totally
15:41the influence of the peaceful air
15:43that is in his DNA
15:45of Maestro Jairo Varela
15:47and obviously of the group Niche
15:49that is also in favor of the sound of the group Niche
15:52talking about the sound
15:54the lyrics are another thing
15:56it's like a poem
15:58well, before we let you go
16:00very quickly, who is the best dancer?
16:02me
16:06he is a dancer
16:08first he was a dancer
16:10wow
16:12so I'm not going to pretend
16:14that I'm going to dance here
16:16if there is a prize, the dancer
16:18who is the one who gets more nervous
16:21oh Alejandro
16:23that entrance to the bathroom
16:25oh my god
16:27I think that the entrance to the bathroom
16:29is not even because of nervousness
16:31but because of a mania
16:33I can't control
16:35sometimes I'm calm
16:37and then I go to the bathroom
16:39but why?
16:41I just left
16:43I have to go to the bathroom
16:45I don't know
16:47but to tell the truth
16:50of course
16:52the day there is no such thing
16:54I worry
16:56the day I'm not nervous
16:58I'm going to worry
17:00it's not a terror
17:02the most vain
17:04all
17:06all the musicians
17:08we all have something
17:10the most fashionista
17:12all
17:14this has to have something
17:16you have to try to look good
17:19the audience likes that
17:21can I ask
17:23who is the most flirtatious?
17:25I know one
17:27someone from here
17:29someone from here
17:31is the most flirtatious
17:33no no
17:35we are mani mani
17:37Leila
17:39we are mani mani
17:41when he is singing
17:43and there is a girl
17:45she is greeting him
17:48I have to film
17:50poor guy
17:52and to finish
17:56the most sleepy
18:02I don't think he is here
18:04he is in the group
18:06Ale sleeps a lot
18:08but come on
18:10he is mani mani
18:12I sleep a lot in the hotels
18:14when I have time to sleep
18:17because in the house
18:19in the hotel
18:21I sleep particularly
18:23in the planes
18:25I stay still for a moment
18:27and I fall asleep
18:29he sleeps a lot
18:31in the planes
18:33he is my roommate
18:35and he
18:37he doesn't sleep
18:39he is more normal
18:41no no
18:43sometimes I say
18:46you wake him up early
18:48thank you very much
18:50for coming to billboard
18:52I am happy to have you
18:54very proud
18:56to welcome you to our studio
18:58and very excited
19:00to hear the new music
19:02in 2025
19:04it is a pleasure for us
19:06Leila
19:08it is very emotional
19:10to be here
19:12it represents a lot
19:15it is very good
19:17the most important
19:19is to meet people from our land
19:21our dear Cali
19:23our dear Cali
19:25adopted
19:27I love Cali
19:29did you notice
19:31that I welcomed you
19:33as if you were a Cali
19:35we don't discriminate
19:37I love my land
19:39Barranquilla
19:41but Cali has opened the doors
19:43that's how I like it