By Santiago Cruz Hoyos – Chronicles and Reports Editor – Photos and Video Jorge Orozco
As Jairo Varela walked onto the balcony of his room at the Savoy Hotel in central Cali, he enjoyed a magnificent view. To his right he could see the top floors of the CAM and in the background the mountains where Christ the King rests. To his left he witnessed the excitement of the Primera race.
If Jairo were still alive, he would be looking at the facade of the Tardes de Paris motel, or the bars under the yellow-fronted hydraulic workshop, and the bridge that connects the World Cup tunnel to the hotel and the Metropolitan Police headquarters. I wonder if the balcony inspired some of his songs paying tribute to Cali. When you travel through Quinta, it is my beautiful Cali that you are traveling through.
The room where Jairo lived is 206, corner. For the founder of the world's most important salsa orchestra, Grupo Niche, a balcony was essential. Jairo Varela was a big smoker. There is still a standing ashtray in the room from the years the teacher lived there: between 1979 and 1984.
The Savoy, a hotel with a century of existence and a history that dates back to the birth of the niche group. Its manager, Mauricio Ríos, says the hotel has belonged to his family for decades. And it was his grandmother who had the idea of building a hotel that would have the same name as the renowned Savoy hotel chain. | Photo: El Pais
To get to the “Jairo Varela” room, go up a few steps from reception and pass through a lounge that the hotel named after him in homage to the maestro. It was the place where Grupo Niche originally rehearsed.
— Our most famous guest was Jairo Varela and his Niche Group. Jairo arrived from Santa Fe de Bogotá in Santiago de Cali at the Hotel Savoy, together with the members of the orchestra: Alexis Lozano, Álvaro del Castillo and Tuto Jiménez. My family looked after her during her stay at the Savoy for several years – says Mauricio Ríos, the hotel manager, dressed like a London gentleman: with a beret and a bullfighter's vest.
The first Savoy Hotel was born in London. It opened its doors in 1889. It was the city's first luxury hotel, which inspired the opening of other Savoy hotels in Buenos Aires, Prague, Guayaquil, Rome and Cali.
Famous people, notables, the royal family, Edward and the Prince of Wales stayed at the Savoy in London.
Jairo Varela's room at the Savoy Hotel was number 206. It had a balcony. The founder of Grupo Niche liked to smoke. | Photo: El Pais
A prince also stays at the Savoy Hotel in Cali. His name is Nilo Chaverra and in the cafeteria he wears the clothes of African princes. At the hotel they know him as “the Prince of Pizarro, Chocó”.
— Whenever I come to Cali from my hometown, I stay at the Savoy Hotel. I like it because the history of the hotel is linked to black people. We feel at home. The Chocó district always thanks the hotel for the gesture it had with Jairo Varela: welcoming him even if on many occasions he did not have to pay the bills – says Nilo while talking to another famous guest, the former Santa Fe -Player, a representative of the football players is now speaking. , Didio Mosquera.
The Savoy Hotel in Cali opened its doors in 1923, 101 years ago. It is the oldest hotel in the city. It was founded by the grandmother of Mauricio Ríos, his current manager. Her name was Julia Rosa Ríos and she wanted to emulate the Savoy Hotel in London in the heart of Cali.
The building, located on the corner of Carrera 1 and Calle 17, was built by engineer Gerardo Posada in the Art Deco style, characterized by geometric shapes, luxurious decoration, natural lighting and ventilation. The hotel is full of windows in its 45 rooms. Also courtyards with gardens, fountains and ornamental balconies. No need to turn on light bulbs during the day. The cabinets and their 250 doors are made of black cedar. After 100 years they are still intact.
The hotel was built by engineer Gerardo Posada with Art Deco architecture: luxurious decoration, natural light. | Photo: El Pais
The hotel is also a museum of the old town of Cali. A collection of nine vintage cars is on display on the first floor: a mechanical 1953 Chevrolet Station Wagon that seats nine people. There is also the same version of the car, but with an automatic transmission and a convertible. In this car, Mauricio Ríos, the manager, followed the hearse with the body of Maestro Jairo Varela after his death on August 8, 2012.
The hotel's vintage car collection also includes a Model 71 Jeep Gladiator and a 1981 Dodge Corone. The oldest car is a Model 37 Chevrolet: “the gangster car,” as they call it.
There are antique clocks and telephones in the hotel hallways. Most striking, however, is a 1920s radio on display at reception. It was designed exclusively for hotels in Detroit, USA.
The hotel's vintage car collection is on display on the first floor. | Photo: El Pais
At the beginning of the Savoy Hotel, radio was installed in the best rooms. If the guest wanted to listen to his favorite show, he had to insert 25 cents into a slot at the top, which gave him the right to an hour of radio. The device works 100 years later.
Because of its architecture and history, the Savoy Hotel was declared an Architectural and Cultural Heritage of Cali in 2007. It is the only hotel still standing in the old town of Cali, remembers its manager Mauricio Ríos and immediately looks for a book, another A jewel of a museum, even if it is a copy: the argument that Cali made, to be selected as the site of the 1971 Pan American Games.
There you can read the profiles of the leaders of the time, such as Mayor Luis Emilio Sardi and Governor Libardo Lozano Guerrero. The then President of the Republic was Carlos Lleras Restrepo and the President of the Colombian Olympic Committee was Mario García. The initiator of the campaign to host the Pan American Games was Alberto Galindo Herrera.
The Savoy, a hotel with a century of existence and a history that dates back to the birth of the niche group. Its manager, Mauricio Ríos, says the hotel has belonged to his family for decades. And it was his grandmother who had the idea of building a hotel that would bear the same name as the renowned Savoy | hotel chain Photo: El Pais
The book reports on the city's industrialists of those years, such as Santiago and Harold Eder, and there is a chapter on hotel capacity, which states: “Cali ranks first in Colombia in terms of hotel capacity in relation to the number of its hotels “Inhabitants” and a table shows the number of rooms in each hotel: the Alférez Real, demolished; The Aristi Hotel no longer exists, as do the others mentioned in the painting: New York Hotel, Los Angeles Hotel, Menéndez Hotel, Calima Hotel, María Victoria Hotel, Miami Hotel. The only place where the Pan American Games took place is the Savoy Hotel. And yet there is a risk of demolition.
— There is a partial plan for the renovation of the El Hoyo and El Piloto neighborhoods. As a native Californian, I say what happened and continues to hurt me deeply: the history of Cali has been reduced to rubble. They destroyed the Hotel Alférez Real, the San Fernando Club, the old Pichincha Battalion and the first mayor's office. Today, half of the San Antonio neighborhood is in ruins. There are buildings where the original facade is preserved, but inside there are parking spaces, a mockery of the norm – says Mauricio, who takes a moment and adds:
– The partial plan for the El Hoyo and El Piloto neighborhoods could pose a risk to the Savoy Hotel. They want to knock him down. We disagree because we don't want it to suffer the same fate as the city's history. As Caleños, we will not allow the Savoy Hotel to be demolished. Besides, we live here. This is my home. We are collecting signatures so that citizens can support us. We are not against the partial plan for the EL Hoyo and El Piloto districts. We want the history to be respected and the hotel not to be endangered in the process.
The Savoy, a hotel with a century of existence and a history that dates back to the birth of the niche group. Its manager, Mauricio Ríos, says the hotel has belonged to his family for decades. And it was his grandmother who had the idea of building a hotel that would bear the same name as the renowned Savoy | hotel chain Photo: El Pais
Mauricio now looks for another object – the hotel museum and smiles. It is a portable record player the size of an executive suitcase that Maestro Jairo Varela gave to Savoy. Mauricio plays the long piece Cielo de Tambores by Niche, and the sound is reproduced clearly and with power on the device, which remains intact.
And party! And rumba! And Rumba, the sugar cane fair. The people are on the square! The bull of this breed! Hey!
As the song plays, Mauricio says:
— We suggest to the people who visit us: let's take a piece of paper and a pencil and fill the page with words: seat, table, record, shoe, cell phone, whatever you can imagine. And then we take those words and deliver a message. And apart from that: let's make music and make people dance. And let the years pass and people keep dancing. And then we play this song, Cali Ají, and the guests dance. That's called genius. Jairo Varela was a genius of musical composition and at the Savoy Hotel we will preserve his legacy.
This portable record player was a gift from Maestro Jairo Varela to the Savoy Hotel. | Photo: El Pais