Happy Thursday. Salsa has been our theme here for the last week or two. This week’s spotlight is on Grupo Niche, one of the most popular Colombian salsa groups of all time. If you haven’t already read our posts on our Memories of Salsa Saturdays, read them here and here.
Founded in 1978 in Cali, Colombia Grupo Niche has been one of the most prolific and successful salsa groups of all time. Founded in part by Jairo Valera, the group has experienced a rotating membership throughout the years. The most notable member is likely Tito Gomez, who Grupo Niche is one of the most influential groups in Colombian music history (read a full musical history of Colombia here). There is still a form of the group that exists and makes music today. The group Orquesta Guayacan formed as an offshoot of Grupo Niche.
Over the last 43 years, Grupo Niche has released dozens of albums. Their latest album 40 won a Latin Grammy for best Tropical Album, a huge achievement even after all these years. If you haven’t added any of their tracks to your playlists, now’s the time.
While we have a lot of songs we can choose from, this week’s track is Cali Pachanguero. An unofficial anthem for Cali, Colombia, this song is a standard on salsa playlists everywhere. The term pachanguero refers colloquially to someone who loves to party and have a good time. It’s derived from pachanga which is a form of Cha-cha which comes from Cuba. Cali Pachanguero is a tribute to the music and energy of Cali. It’s a perfect song for dancing and for partying. Cali Pachanguero has been listed as one of the Top 50 Latin songs of all time.
From 1984, Cali Pachanguero