Grupo Niche

]Bandleader and co-founder Jairo de Fátima Varela Martínez was born on 9 December 1949 in Quibdó, Colombia, the son of merchant Pedro Antonio Varela Restrepo and writer and poet, Teresa de Jesús Martínez Arce. His first contact with music occurred when he was eight years old, in the barrio of Roma de Quibdó where he formed the group "La Timba", essentially composed of musicians playing only the flute, bongos, maracas and güiro. At the age of 62, Varela was found dead in his Cali home on August 8, 2012, apparently from heart failure. Jairo's daughter, Yanila Varela has been the owner of Grupo Niche since her father's death. ==Grupo Niche in Canada==

Grupo Niche played in Montreal on July 21, 2001, for a party to celebrate the independence of Colombia (July 20). Grupo Niche was also accompanied that night with another band called Balmore Estrada y su Nueva Sensacion, who was formed in the late 1980s by Balmore Estrada. Grupo Niche also played again in Montreal, on July 15, 2006, in the festival colombiano, October 2008 and on May 8, 2010, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band. According to the Latin site Hola Calgary on October 11, 2008, Grupo Niche played at the Jack Singer Concert Hall EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts in Calgary, Alberta. ==Discography==

• Al Pasito (1979) • Querer es Poder (1981) • Prepárate... (1982) • Directo Desde New York! (1983) • No Hay Quinto Malo (1984) • Triunfo (1985) • Me Huele a Matrimonio (1986) • Con Cuerdas (1987) • Historia Musical (1987) • Tapando el Hueco (1988) • Sutil y Contundente (1989) • Cielo de Tambores (1990) • Llegando al 100% (1991) • 12 años con su éxito Mexico, Mexico (1992) • Un Alto en el Camino (1993) • Huellas del Pasado (1995) • Etnia (1996) • A Prueba de Fuego (1997) • Señales de Humo (1998) • A Golpe de Folklore (1999) • Propuesta (2000) • La Danza de la Chancaca (2001) • Control Absoluto (2002) • Imaginación (2004) • Alive (2005) • Tocando el Cielo con las Manos (2013) • 35 Aniversario (2015) • 40 (2020) - Winner, Best Tropical Latin Album, 2021 GRAMMY Award • Rupelto Mena(2022) • Niche Sinfónico (2023) - Winner, Best Salsa Album, 2023 Latin GRAMMY Award Compilations • Historia Musical, Vol. 1 (1988) • Grandes Éxitos (1988) • 12 Años (1993) • Historia Musical, Vol. 2 (1993) • Brillantes (1994) • The Best (1994) • Brillantes, Vol. 2 (1995) • El Único: Best of Grupo Niche, Vol. 3 (1995) • Cara A Cara (1997) • 20th Anniversary (1999) • Siempre Una Aventura (2000) • Antología (2000) • Solamente Tú (2001) • 20 Años: La Danza de la Chancaca (2001) • 22 Ultimate Hits (2002) • 20 Éxitos Originales (2005) • 2 Grandes Voces (2007) • Una Aventura... La Historia (2007) • 10 de Colección (2008) • Los Clásicos del Grupo Niche (2009) • Mis Favoritas (2010) • Frente A Frente (2013) ==References==