Bandleader and composer Jairo Varela built his big salsa band, Grupo Niche, to become the best-known Colombian salsa group in history, thanks to a repertoire of hit songs that celebrated the culture of his adopted city, Cali, and a distinctive, brassy, bold sound anchored in musical excellence.
Cali, long celebrated by dance aficionados as the “capital of salsa” for its love of the music from all origins, became a cradle of the genre thanks to Niche and its songs. But it would take 40 years for Grupo Niche to get its ultimate due. On Sunday night, the 14-man troupe won the Grammy for best tropical Latin album for