Co-founder and former member of legendary Colombian salsa band Grupo Niche announced Friday to return to the music group after teh death of director and singer Jairo Varela last week.
“Niche cannot disappear,” said Alexis Lozano who co-founded Grupo Niche together with Jairo Varela in 1978 but later left the band to form the salsa Guayacan Orchestra.
“I offered myself personally to take over the artistic direction [of Grupo Niche] but more like an consultant,” Lozano told radio station Radio Caracol.
The salsa singer from Choco plans to direct Niche and Guayacan at the same time. “We can’t drop Grupo Niche but I also cannot abandon Guayacan because this rivalry was exactly what made us big in Colombia and internationally,” added Lozano.
Grupo Niche was directed by Jairo Varela until his death on August 8, 2010. In his three-decade long career, the 62-year-old singer created some of the most memorable songs in history, such as “Buenaventura y Caney,” “Una Aventura,” and “Cali Pachanguero.”