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Cali Pachanguero

Grupo Niche · 1984 · written by Jairo Varela, from the album No Hay Quinto Malo

A love song, but to a city: homesick in New York, Jairo Varela wrote the anthem that Cali, Colombia's salsa capital, still sings as its own.

The story

  1. 1.Far from home

    The singer is away from Cali, and while he's gone, he says, he's dying: he can't see its mountains in front of him.

  2. 2.Its places

    He walks through the city in his mind: the carnival in Juanchito, the little streets of Siloé, the Pascual, Cali's stadium.

  3. 3.Heaven's branch office

    Cali is Cali, ladies and gentlemen. Next to it, the famous cities of the world don't compare: it's heaven's branch office on earth.

  4. 4.Never again

    He won't leave it again, not for anything. Let the whole world sing to Cali.

Key phrases

  • “Cali pachanguero, Cali luz de un nuevo cielo”Party-loving Cali, Cali, light of a new skyPachanguero comes from pachanga: a party, and also a Cuban-rooted dance music that took over Cali in the 1960s. A pachanguero is someone who loves to party.
  • “Carnaval en Juanchito”Carnival in JuanchitoJuanchito, just across the Cauca River from Cali, is famous for its salsa clubs, where the dancing goes on until dawn.
  • “Cali es Cali, señoras, señores”Cali is Cali, ladies and gentlemenCaleños like to say Cali es Cali, lo demás es loma: “Cali is Cali, everything else is just hills”. The song leans on that pride.
  • “Del cielo Cali la sucursal”Cali, heaven's branch officeA sucursal is a branch of a bank or a shop. La sucursal del cielo is Cali's proudest nickname.

Context

Jairo Varela (1949–2012), from Quibdó in Colombia's Chocó, founded Grupo Niche and wrote and produced its songs. He wrote Cali Pachanguero while in New York, missing home.

It came out on No Hay Quinto Malo (1984), was named the official song of Cali's fair that year, and made Niche famous across Colombia. Its brass, three trumpets, two trombones and a saxophone, became the band's signature sound.

Cali calls itself the world capital of salsa, and this is its anthem.

On the dance floor

Fast and festive, with bright brass riffs: a party song, made for the quick footwork Cali's dancers are famous for. On a social floor, keep it light and bouncy.

At a Colombian party, expect the whole room to sing the chorus.

This is our own retelling of the song, not its lyrics or a translation of them: the few short phrases quoted are there to explain what they mean. The song belongs to its writer, Jairo Varela.