Avianca Group International Limited (AGIL) yesterday reported its consolidated financial results for the third quarter of 2025. The company achieved $411 million USD in Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization, and Rent (EBITDAR), resulting in a 27.2% margin for the period.

The third-quarter EBITDAR represents a 15.5% year-over-year increase from the $356 million USD reported in Q3 2024. Total operating revenues reached $1,509 million USD, marking a 12.8% increase compared to the $1,338 million USD recorded in the same period of the prior year. Total operating costs increased by 13.3% year-over-year, settling at $1,290 million USD. Net income for the quarter was $101 million USD, an improvement from $72 million USD in Q3 2024.

Operational and Capacity Metrics

Capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometers (ASKs), reached 18,284 million, denoting a 6.8% increase compared to Q3 2024. This growth was attributed primarily to a 6.2% year-over-year increase in Stage Length. Passenger departures increased 1.0% year-over-year. The company transported 9.7 million passengers, consistent with the volume in the comparable period of 2024. The network encompassed 169 routes serving 83 destinations across 28 countries. Subsequent to the quarter’s close, Avianca introduced three new international routes, which included Belém (Brazil) and Monterrey (Mexico).

Cost performance for the quarter indicated a reduction in overall per-unit costs. Total Passenger CASK (Cost per Available Seat Kilometer) was 5.7 cents, a 1.9% decrease relative to Q3 2024. This decline was largely driven by Passenger Fuel CASK, which decreased 9.9% to 1.7 cents, resulting from lower fuel prices and increased fuel efficiency. Passenger CASK excluding fuel increased 2.1% year-over-year to 3.9 cents.

Balance Sheet and Credit Rating Actions

As of September 30, 2025, Avianca reported liquidity totaling $1,361 million USD, which represented 24.2% of last-twelve-month revenue. This total includes a cash balance of $1,161 million USD and $200 million USD available through an undrawn Revolving Credit Facility. The Net Debt to last-twelve-month EBITDAR ratio improved sequentially to 2.8x from 2.9x reported on June 30, 2025.

Rating agencies Moody’s and Fitch  upgraded Avianca’s credit ratings to B1 and B+ respectively. Both rating actions were assigned a stable outlook.

Business Unit Performance and Network Development

The cargo division, Avianca Cargo, recorded $157 million USD in revenue during Q3 2025, representing a 14.1% year-over-year increase. The operating freighter fleet currently consists of nine Airbus A330s, following the integration of two additional P2F aircraft during the quarter.

The loyalty program, LifeMiles, reported a 72% year-over-year increase in Q3 2025 Third-Party Cash EBITDA, reaching $77 million USD.

In network strategy, AGIL expanded its Business Class service to 54 additional routes from key operational centers including Bogotá (Colombia), Medellín (Colombia), San Salvador (El Salvador), Quito, and Guayaquil (Ecuador). The company’s passenger operating fleet totaled 161 aircraft as of September 2025, including 134 Airbus A320 family aircraft, 15 Boeing 787s, and 12 Airbus A330s.

Avianca is a member of Star Alliance  and is part of the Abra Group. The Abra Group also controls Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A.   and holds a strategic investment in Wamos Air .

Above photo: Avianca A330F cargo jet (photo courtesy Avianca)

The Latin American culinary sector convened in Antigua, Guatemala, for the 13th edition of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025, an event sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna (SIX: NESN, OTC: NSRGY). The ceremony, held at Santo Domingo del Cerro, highlighted establishments from 21 cities across the region, with Bogotá’s El Chato securing the No. 1 position.

Led by Chef Álvaro Clavijo, El Chato ascended from the No. 3 spot in 2024 to be named “The Best Restaurant in Latin America” and “The Best Restaurant in Colombia.” The contemporary bistro is noted for its engagement with local producers and its interpretation of Colombian ingredients. Clavijo founded the restaurant with the objective of positioning Colombian gastronomy globally by utilizing regional products.

“We are truly delighted to celebrate El Chato as The Best Restaurant in Latin America 2025,” stated Craig Hawtin-Butcher, Managing Director for 50 Best. “This achievement reflects the energy, talent and authenticity that make Latin American gastronomy unique in the world.”

Colombia’s Culinary Footprint

Beyond the top spot, Colombian restaurants maintained a significant presence on the list. Celele in Cartagena, known for its research into Caribbean biodiversity, ranked No. 5. In Bogotá, Chef Leonor Espinosa’s Leo placed at No. 23.

Several new entries and recognitions for Colombia were announced. Afluente, located in Bogotá, debuted on the list at No. 34. Humo Negro, also in the capital, appeared at No. 41. Manuel, a restaurant in Barranquilla, was ranked No. 46.

Specific accolades were awarded to Colombian venues. Oda, a Bogotá-based restaurant situated within the G Lounge, received the Sustainable Restaurant Award. The establishment focuses on ingredients sourced from urban gardens and local producers.

Regional Rankings and Awards

Buenos Aires led the city rankings with eight restaurants in the top 50, followed by Lima with seven and Santiago with five. Kjolle (No. 2) in Lima was named “The Best Restaurant in Peru,” while Don Julio (No. 3) in Buenos Aires took the title of “The Best Restaurant in Argentina.”

Other notable awards included:

• Highest New Entry: Casa Las Cujas (No. 14) in Santiago.

• Highest Climber: Cosme (No. 9) in Lima, sponsored by Lee Kum Kee.

• Icon Award: Rodolfo Guzmán of Boragó (No. 6) in Santiago.

• Best Pastry Chef: Bianca Mirabili of Evvai (No. 20), sponsored by República del Cacao.

• Chefs’ Choice Award: Alejandro Chamorro of Nuema (No. 10), sponsored by Estrella Damm (BME: DAMM).

• Best Sommelier: Maximiliano Pérez, sponsored by Vik.

• Best Female Chef: Tássia Magalhães.

The voting process is audited by professional services consultancy Deloitte, utilizing a panel of 300 regional experts including journalists, food critics, and chefs to determine the rankings.

Tourism and Partnerships

The event was hosted in partnership with the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT), which aims to position Guatemala as a competitive destination. Other partners included American Express (NYSE: AXP), Buchanan’s (LSE: DGE, NYSE: DEO), and Ron Zacapa (LSE: DGE, NYSE: DEO).

Above photo: El Chato in Bogotá takes the No.1 spot in Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna (PRNewsfoto/50 Best)

Every December, Bogotá transforms. Streets glow with constellations of LED lights, plazas turn into theatrical stages, and entire neighborhoods feel suspended somewhere between festive nostalgia and big-city spectacle. But this year’s celebration, dubbed Navidad es Cultura, is bigger, brighter, and more imaginative than ever before. Running from December 5 to 23, it invites locals and travelers alike to explore a holiday season built around creativity, community, and a forward-looking vision of the capital.

“This year, Christmas in Bogotá asks us to imagine and build the future we deserve,” says Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán, who unveiled a lineup of 670 activities and more than 4,300 artists. The result is a citywide cultural takeover – part art festival, part family tradition, and always a playground for the young and young-at-heart.

Following the Christmas Trail

For many visitors, the gateway into Bogotá’s holiday spirit begins with La Ruta de la Navidad, a curated trail of illuminated landmarks running through three major sectors: the historic downtown corridor, the sprawling Parque El Tunal in the south, and the bustling districts of the city’s north. This isn’t a gentle dusting of fairy lights. The 2025 installation includes 114 LED Christmas trees, more than 54 kilometers of miniature lights, and 1,655 decorative elements that dazzle both day and night. All of it is powered with a dramatically reduced energy load thanks to the city’s commitment to efficient, sustainable LED technology.

The season’s tallest marvel rises in Parque El Tunal, where Bogotá has erected its highest Christmas tree to date – a shimmering 56-meter-high tower of light with a 20-meter base. Surrounding it, the park becomes a walk-through holiday storybook. More than 1.3 kilometers of illuminated trails lead visitors through a world of giant glowing reindeer, oversized ornaments, a whimsical Santa’s garden, a luminous gift zone, and a charming Postal Navideña designed for festive snapshots.

At night, the park’s central plaza turns into a stage for a 360-degree laser and music show, performed every half hour from December 5 to 28. And this year, two colossal LED matrices – stretching more than 300 meters and totaling 200,000 programmable bulbs – transform the façades of the Palacio Liévano downtown and the Parque El Tunal cultural center, splashing them with color and geometric patterns that ripple like digital brushstrokes.

The Imagined City

The heartbeat of Navidad es Cultura pulses strongest at two iconic venues: Plaza de Bolívar and La Santamaría.

In Plaza de Bolívar, “Una Ciudad Imaginada” steals the show. This high-tech production blends projection mapping, live performance, soundscapes, and more than 50 artists to create a vivid dreamscape. Running December 13–14 and 17–23, the 35-minute performances—three each evening—draw thousands to the capital’s political and cultural heart. Here, Bogotá’s imagined future is cast across historic stone façades, offering a sensory journey through light, architecture, and shared aspiration.

Just a short walk away, Plaza Cultural La Santamaría will host “Más Allá de las Nubes,” a tender 35-minute theatrical piece performed by 80 artists. It tells the poetic story of a young girl and her cat traveling through Bogotá’s neighborhoods – an enchanting family-friendly work that blends dance, acrobatics, immersive staging, and soaring visual elements. With capacity for 10,000 spectators per show, it is one of the season’s most endearing offerings for visitors with children in tow.

Bogotá Belongs to the Night

No Bogotá Christmas is complete without the city’s most beloved holiday tradition: the Ciclovía Nocturna, an annual nighttime cycling celebration when Bogotá hands its streets back to the public.

The edition 48 takes place on Thursday, December 11, from 6 p.m. to midnight, drawing an estimated 2.5 million participants onto 95 kilometers of car-free avenues. Whether you’re pedaling a bike, cruising on a skateboard, or strolling with a cup of hot chocolate, the Ciclovía reveals Bogotá’s electrifying nighttime personality: impromptu music groups, couples on tandem bikes, toddlers being towed in light-strung trailers, and streams of cyclists coasting down Avenida Boyacá or Carrera Séptima under illuminated tunnels of color.

“The Ciclovía is a symbol of Bogotá – of encounter, health, and coexistence,” says IDRD director Daniel García Cañón. This year’s celebration also marks 50 years of Bogotá’s pioneering Ciclovía, now replicated by cities around the world. Fittingly, Bogotá will also host the 15th International Congress of Recreational Ciclovías of the Americas on December 11 and 12, welcoming global leaders for conversations on urban recreation, mobility, and community health.

More than a display of lights, Bogotá’s Christmas season feels like a cultural manifesto—an invitation to imagine a brighter city through shared art, open spaces, and collective celebration. From the sensory wonder of Plaza de Bolívar to the poetic warmth of La Santamaría and the joyful nighttime takeover during Ciclovía Nocturna, Navidad es Cultura positions Bogotá as one of Latin America’s most compelling December destinations.

As Mayor Galán puts it, “I invite everyone to enjoy this year’s Christmas programming and celebrate the end of the year in peace.” This season, Bogotá shines brighter—not only with a constellation of LEDs, but with imagination beyond the clouds.

Colombia has recorded 40,663 homicides during the first three years of President Gustavo Petro’s government, surpassing the totals reported under the administrations of Iván Duque and Juan Manuel Santos, according to a report published Tuesday by the Centro de Paz y Seguridad of Universidad Externado. The report documents killings between August 2022 and August 2025, a period that encompasses Petro’s “Total Peace” agenda with illegal armed groups. According to the data, Colombia registered a 7.59% increase in homicides compared with the same timeframe under Duque, who reported 37,795 cases, while Santos’ second term saw 36,646.

“During the first three years of Gustavo Petro’s administration, violence did not decrease under the banner of ‘Paz Total’. On the contrary, homicides continued to rise,” the study states. Petro’s annual average now stands at 13,554 murders per year, compared with 12,598 under Duque and 12,215 under Santos. Nationally, investigators estimate one person is killed every 39 minutes, a faster rate than during the two previous governments.

The findings, compiled by researchers Andrés González Díaz, Diego Rodríguez Pinzón and Carolina Saldaña, present a wide set of indicators showing the acceleration of lethal violence. Monthly murders during Petro’s term average 1,130 cases — compared with 1,050 under Duque — while daily homicides rose from 34.5 to 37 per day.

The authors also document a territorial reconfiguration of violence. Their analysis identifies rapidly shifting hotspots driven by disputes among armed groups, expanding drug economies and the weakening of state authority in several regions.

The study found the Caribbean region registered the steepest increases, displacing historically violent departments in the southwest. Six departments account for the largest share of the national rise when compared with Duque’s tenure, including Bolívar with 870 homicides, Magdalena: (811), Atlántico: (803) and Santander (530).

Researchers said these spikes coincide with the emergence of new criminal alliances, intensified disputes over drug-trafficking corridors and the collapse of informal ceasefires amid the government’s stalled negotiations with armed groups.

In Catatumbo, one of Colombia’s most unstable border regions, killings rose sharply due to clashes between the National Liberation Army (ELN) and FARC dissidents. “The increase in violence in Norte de Santander — 141 additional homicides — reflects escalating confrontations, particularly in Tibú, Ocaña, El Tarra and Cúcuta,” the report said. Rising attacks on social leaders and former FARC peace signatories further contributed to what analysts describe as an “acute humanitarian risk.”

Bogotá becomes a “critical node”

Despite being the country’s most heavily policed territory, Bogotá recorded one of the most significant increases in homicide volume. Murders rose from 3,198 to 3,427, an increase of 229 cases (7.16%), making the capital the single largest contributor to the regional rise in central Colombia.

The department of Cundinamarca added 139 cases, rising from 1,111 to 1,250 homicides (+12.51%), while Boyacá registered the steepest proportional jump in the region — +17%, from 247 to 289 cases — despite being one of the country’s historically safest departments.

The report concludes that identifying and intervening in these “critical territorial nodes” is essential to reversing the national upward trend. It also adds that the shifting geography of violence reflects a broader proliferation of armed groups and illicit economies fueled by kidnapping, drug trafficking and illegal mining, during Petro’s final months in office.

Before he became Latin America’s most celebrated chef, Álvaro Clavijo spent years doing what few aspiring cooks romantically imagine: scrubbing plates in the basements of Parisian kitchens. He had left Bogotá after a brief, unsatisfying year studying architecture at Los Andes University. In Paris he dabbled in photography, learned impeccable French, and quickly discovered that the underbelly of a culinary capital is more grit than glamour.

But something in the rhythm of kitchens – heat, repetition, precision – anchored him. Despite his mother’s skepticism that he could make a living cooking (“She couldn’t even fry an egg,” he jokes), he enrolled at Barcelona’s prestigious Hofmann School, known for turning students into chefs ready for the academy’s own Michelin-starred restaurant.

Three years in Barcelona, five in France, and still, Colombia tugged at him. Yet just as he considered returning home, another city intervened – New York, home to the temples of modern gastronomy. He landed at Thomas Keller’s Per Se, where the immaculate choreography of haute cuisine shaped him indelibly. “My cooking is French, my ingredients are Colombian, and my organization is American,” he says today, seated in the dining room of El Chato, the Bogotá restaurant that has now been named Latin America’s Best Restaurant 2025 by Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Clavijo returned to Bogotá in 2013 to open the first incarnation of El Chato in Quinta Camacho. The menu – slow-cooked meats, obsessive technique, and elegant, deeply flavored dishes – won over small but devoted crowds. Still, it was removed from the city’s emerging gastrosphere. When a more neighborhood-friendly house became available in Chapinero Alto, he moved the restaurant, unaware that the next decade would transform it into one of the continent’s most influential kitchens.

Today, El Chato is a study in unpretentious sophistication. The 80-seat dining room blends the familiar with the eccentric: a 1970s rotary telephone, faded high-school portraits, and stacks of old medical encyclopedias donated by friends. Bare brick walls glow under soft lighting. The décor is tongue-in-cheek, but the menu – one page, clean, unfussy –  reveals Clavijo’s philosophy: dining should thrill, not intimidate.

A meal begins with the restaurant’s signature “mule,” part Moscow classic, part tribute to the Colombian countryside’s icon. Infused with herbs and tropical fruits, the drink sets the tone for a night driven by local ingredients elevated through global technique. Upstairs, the kitchen team moves like monks—quiet, deliberate, wholly focused.

Clavijo’s signature dishes have become objects of devotion. A roast lamb, equal parts Boyacá and Provence, is tender, perfumed, and blanketed with a buttery cream sauce. The crab in avocado purée, studded with mango, foraged greens, and blackened-rice chips, is the kind of dish entire essays could be written about. Beef tartare arrives garnished with rose vinaigrette, mini croutons, and kale mayonnaise. Even the lunch menu—Cuban pulled pork sandwiches, bright shrimp buns—shows a level of refinement that belies its casual delivery.

Temperature, he insists, is everything. He pushes heat to its limits, and his meat cuts are never simply slapped onto a grill; they are cured in-house for weeks, allowing “alchemy,” as he calls it, to work. Rarely leaving the kitchen, he has built a culinary identity rooted in mastery of technique and reverence for Colombian produce, from the high Andes wetlands to the Amazon lowlands.

What distinguishes El Chato – and how it ascended from No. 3 in 2024 to No. 1 in 2025 – is its role as an ambassador for Colombian biodiversity. Working closely with small growers and horticulturists in the Sabana de Bogotá, people whose crops rarely reach high-end kitchens, Clavijo’s dishes are not recreations of Colombian cuisine but reinterpretations – rooted in memory, informed by travel, and executed with discipline.

On a typical night, the dining room hums with locals and international travelers alike. Bogotá’s restaurant scene is fiercely competitive; many places don’t survive their first year. El Chato did more than survive. It set a new standard, one that the world has now recognized by awarding it the top spot in Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants.

For Clavijo, the accolade is gratifying but not defining. The work continues. The flavors deepen. The relationships with farmers strengthen. And every night, in that Chapinero house where mountain meets sea and garden meets homestead, his team quietly reshapes what Colombian cuisine can be.

The 2025 Latin America’s 50 Best list highlighted restaurants from 21 cities, including seven first-time entrants, underscoring the region’s growing culinary diversity. Kjolle in Lima ranked No. 2 and was named Best Restaurant in Peru, while Don Julio in Buenos Aires placed third, securing Best Restaurant in Argentina. Boragó in Santiago took the No. 6 spot, with its chef, Rodolfo Guzmán, receiving the Icon Award for his influence on Chilean cuisine. Quintonil in Mexico City (No. 7) and Tuju in São Paulo (No. 8) were recognized as the best restaurants in Mexico and Brazil respectively.

Cartagena-based Celelé also has an impressive rank among Latin America’s 50 Best, coming in at No.5.

Casa Las Cujas in Santiago, which debuted at No. 14, won the Highest New Entry Award, while Cosme in Lima earned the Highest Climber Award after rising 19 places to No. 9. Nuema in Quito, ranked No. 10 and named Best Restaurant in Ecuador, saw chef Alejandro Chamorro win the peer-voted Estrella Damm Chefs’ Choice Award.

Bianca Mirabili of Evvai in São Paulo (No. 20) was named Latin America’s Best Pastry Chef, and Argentina’s Maximiliano Pérez received the Best Sommelier Award for his wine-driven interpretations of local terroir. Ttássia Magalhães was awarded Latin America’s Best Female Chef for her leadership of an all-women kitchen team in São Paulo.

The awards also recognized national leaders: Maito in Panama City (No. 18), Sublime in Guatemala City (No. 19), Cordero in Caracas (No. 29), and Sikwa in San José (No. 43) were named the best restaurants in their respective countries. Seven new entries joined the 2025 ranking, including Afluente in Bogotá (No. 34), El Mercado in Buenos Aires (No. 27), Arami in La Paz (No. 48), and Demo Magnolia, Yum Cha and Karai by Mitsuharu in Santiago.

Oda in Bogotá received the Sustainable Restaurant Award for its focus on hyper-local sourcing. Additional previously announced prizes included Chef Tita of the Dominican Republic winning the Champions of Change Award, Kjolle receiving the Art of Hospitality Award, and Guatemala’s Ana being named the American Express One To Watch.

In 2017, after El Chato had recently opened its doors to the public, The City Paper profiled the venue and sat down to talk with the young, dynamic chef. The restaurant’s location on Calle 65 No.3B-76 remains the same, and reservations are required.

El Chato: A Bogotá restaurant on par with the very best

The Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo has unveiled its 2026 programme, outlining 116 productions and 178 performances across opera, dance, theatre, music, circus and family shows. The announcement reinforces the theatre’s role as one of Bogotá’s leading cultural institutions, bringing national and international artists to audiences across the capital.

A highlight of the year will be the focus on Germany as Guest Country of Honor, with six events in music and dance that reflect that nation’s contemporary artistic landscape. The most anticipated is the arrival of the Berlin Philharmonic, which will perform in Colombia for the first time in its 186-year history. Led by Kirill Petrenko, the orchestra will offer two October concerts – its first appearance in South America in more than 25 years.

The 2026 lyric season builds on collaborations forged with cultural institutions in Colombia, Spain and Latin America, among them Madrid’s Teatro de la Zarzuela, Fundación Juan March, the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, Coro Nacional de Colombia and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá.

The season includes new stagings of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman (El holandés errante), directed musically by Stefan Lano and scenically by Marcelo Lombardero, and Puccini’s La bohème, conducted by Andrés Orozco Estrada with stage direction by Pedro Salazar. The zarzuelas La tabernera del puerto and El Vizconde will also be presented.

Audiences can expect landmark choral works: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, and Furioso, a musical exploration of the mythical figure Orlando performed by countertenor Xavier Sabata and French ensemble Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu.

The programming in dance, theatre and circus highlights companies working at the forefront of contemporary creation. The Budapest-based dance troupe Recirquel returns with Paradisum, while international dance companies – including Germany’s tanzmainz, Australia’s Sydney Dance Company, the Ballet Español de la Comunidad de Madrid, the Ballet Folclórico de la Universidad de Guadalajara and Chile’s Ballet Municipal de Santiago – offer a unique slate of choreographic perspectives. The latter will perform Swan Lake.

The theatre lineup brings Spanish award-winning works such as El Monstre by Josep María Miró and En mitad de tanto fuego by Alberto Conejero. Colombian companies including La Quinta del Lobo, Grupo Móvil Flotante and La Casa de Atrás will present co-productions with the theatre. 2026 will also see the premiere of Destinitos fatales, Sandro Romero Rey’s tribute to writer Andrés Caicedo ahead of the 50th anniversary of his death in 2027.

Teatro Mayor will again take part in the programming of the Festival Internacional de Artes Vivas – FIAV Bogotá during Holy Week, strengthening its links with the city’s broader cultural calendar.

In its commitment to showcasing Colombia’s artistic diversity, Teatro Mayor will host the launch events of several major national festivals, including the Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata, the Festival de Música del Pacífico Petronio Álvarez and the Festival de Música Andina “Mono Núñez.” International series such as the Festival de Fado, featuring Camané and Sara Correia, and Tango al Mayor, which will include concerts, masterclasses and a grand milonga, will complement the season.

Public-focused programmes – Teatro Digital and Cien Mil Niños al Mayor – will remain active throughout the year, expanding free access for students and encouraging arts accessibility across the nation’s capital.

Teatro Mayor operates as a public-private partnership and with its 2026 programme, reaffirms its role as a key cultural platform for Bogotá – one that connects local audiences with a broad spectrum of artistic expressions from Colombia and around the world.