Jairo Varela Martínez [1], Colombian musician and founder of the salsa group El Grupo Niche [2], died August 8, 2012, after falling in the bathroom of his Cali [3] home, “apparently suffering a heart attack and hitting his head”, according to family sources [4]. Varela was born in Quibdó [5], in the Colombian department of Chocó [6], on December 9, 1949.
At the age of 8, he formed a band in Quibdó called La Timba [a type of salsa music] and in the 70s he moved to Bogotá, where in 1978 he started the salsa group [7] El Grupo Niche. This salsa band became an icon of the country for songs like “Gotas de Lluvia [8]”, “Ana Milé [9]“, “Cali Pachanguero [10]”, “Una Aventura [11]”, and “La magia de tus besos [12]”.
There was a time when drug traffickers hired the orchestra for their extravagant parties, which caused Varela to be linked to drug trafficking. He was charged with “profiting through illegal means” [taking dirty money] and imprisoned, which debilitated him financially and emotionally. He later wrote a novel about his hometown and continued working on his new album, which will soon be released by his children.
His body was taken to the Teatro Jorge Isaac en Cali [14] for vigil, so his followers could gather en masse to say good-bye until August 12, the date on which his orchestra would perform a musical tribute.
There were many comments on Twitter under different tags (Jairo Varela [15], Grupo Niche [16] and Cali Pachanguero [17]) [es] as soon as his death was known.
The user Oscarcito (@oscarcitomundo [18]) [es] quotes two of his songs:
@oscarcitomundo: [19] Ana Mile tú no tienes, no tienes la culpa, q tu niño este llorando, porque su padre no cumpla! Te pinto pajaritos en el aire. “Jairo Varela”…
The journalist Ángela Patricia Janiot (@patriciajaniot [20]) [es] tried to interpret one of his songs and ended up praising Varela's work with the orchestra:
@patriciajaniot [21]: “Una aventura…..es tan bonita”. Como no destacar la dimensión internacional que Jairo Varela le dio a Niche.
Fernán Martínez (@FernanMartinez [22]) [es] considers him a poet:
@FernanMartínez: [23]Leyendo al poeta Jairo Varela, elogio a las cosas más sencillas metidas entre los sentimientos más profundos. Imágenes y emociones.
Some blogs dedicated themselves to reporting [24][es] what had been reported [25] by several traditional media outlets as a tribute to Varela, while the blog El Payanes closed a short tribute with an emotional phrase [26][es]: “Today Colombian salsa and the entire world is in mourning”. Other blogs like Nuestra Gente Digital [27] [es] shared his music videos, like this one which many recognize as an anthem that he sings to the City of Cali: “Cali Pachanguero”:
Meanwhile, the blog Qué hay para hacer stresses his importance [28] [es] towards promoting the good image of Colombia:
Para la música del Pacifico, para la Salsa que nos identifica y para el país en general es una gran pérdida, pues Jairo Varela además de músico y compositor, fue un empresario y un visionario que se convirtió en imagen de Colombia para el mundo.
And the blog Noticias del mundo salsero closed an entry [29] [es] with the following acknowledgement and tribute:
Después de más de 35 composiciones, más de 130 músicos que pasaron por el Grupo Niche, de más de 30 años de carrera musical, y de un sin número de premios obtenidos; hoy, a la edad de 62 años tras padecer de problemas de tensión alta, el compositor chocoano Jairo Varela se despidió de este mundo para hacer parte del orquesta celestial. Feliz Viaje Jairo…!