Biography
Orquesta Guayacán, a Colombian salsa ensemble directed by Alexis Lozano, achieved widespread recognition throughout the 1990s. Hailing from Quibdó, the capital of Chocó along Colombia’s Pacific coast and home to a substantial Afro-Colombian population, Lozano initiated his career in partnership with Jairo Varela. The pair first connected while attending school in Bogotá, where they established the group Niche and Lozano appeared on four of its albums: Al Pasito (1979), Querer Es Poder (1981), Preparate Grupo Niche, Vol. 2 (1982), and Niche (1983). After parting ways with Varela, Lozano launched Orquesta Guayacán, which debuted with Llegó la Hora de la Verdad in 1986 and followed with Que la Sangre Alborota in 1987 and Guayacán Es la Orquesta in 1988. The original roster featured co-founder Richie Valdés on vocals together with his brothers William on timbales and Julio César Valdés on bass, plus John Lozano on vocals and Tanenbaum on keyboards, although Richie and William Valdés exited after Guayacán Es la Orquesta to join Varela in Grupo Niche. Lozano recruited replacements and continued issuing popular releases through the remainder of the decade, among them La Más Bella (1990), 5 Años: Aferrados al Sabor (1991), Oiga, Mire, Vea (1992), Con el Corazón Abíerto (1993), A Puro Golpe (1994), Familia RMM en Vivo (1994), Marcando la Diferencia (1995), Con Sabor Tropical (1997), Nadie Nos Quita Lo Bailao (1998), and De Nuevo en la Salsa (1999). The group sustained its momentum well into the subsequent millennium.
Albums
