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
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