The Gabo Prize is once again at the center of Ibero-American journalism., bringing together professionals from different countries who have managed to bring to light stories that are essential to understanding the region. In this edition, the competition also provides an overview of the prevailing trends and approaches in journalism, as well as the topics that capture both the public's attention and the acclaim of the juries.
More than two thousand proposals arrived at the Gabo Foundation From March 2024 to February 2025, fifteen research projects were ultimately selected as finalists in the five competition categories: Text, Coverage, Image, Audio, and Photography. The submissions come from locations as diverse as Brazil, Mexico, El Salvador, Spain, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Cuba, Portugal, and the United States.
Stories that give voice to the silenced
The selected projects They focus on fundamental social and political problemsThe texts include investigations into structural racism, exclusion, violence linked to organized crime, and migration flows. Highlights include "Searching for Mikelson: Apartheid in the Caribbean" and "Chiapas, Territory Taken," both with in-depth approaches and in-depth narratives.
The Coverage category makes it clear the commitment to denouncing alliances between economic power and violence, with pieces such as “Chiquita Republic,” which investigates the role of banana companies in Colombian paramilitarism, or “Río Bravo, the Flow of a Thousand Dead Migrants,” which focuses on the lethal impact of immigration policies on the Mexico-United States border.
In the visual field, both Photography and Image become tools to show environmental devastation and the helplessness of communities in the face of climate change and violence. Images of extreme droughts in the Amazon, historic floods in Brazil, and the audiovisual exploration of collective memory and social resistance are just some of the themes addressed.
In the Audio category Sound research and podcasts that recover silenced voices shine, whether it revolves around state violence, cultural resistance, or historical memory. Examples include "Humo: Murder and Silence in El Salvador," which delves into the structures of violence and human rights through an emblematic criminal case, as well as "La Casa Grande" and "Necesito Poder Poder Brea: La Vida de Jorge González."
Gabo Festival: a space for sharing and reflection
The authors of the finalist works have been invited to Bogotá, where they will participate in the Gabo Festival, from July 25th to 27th. There, they will not only share the keys to their research and work methodologies, but will also participate in public dialogues and lectures that seek to rethink the challenges facing journalism today. The activities will take place in iconic venues in the Colombian capital, including sessions moderated by prominent figures such as Patricia Nieto, Carmen Aristegui, and María Jesús Espinosa de los Monteros.
The main gala will take place on the evening of July 26th at the Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Theater. In addition to announcing the winners and presenting the iconic "Gabriel sculpture," the ceremony will be broadcast live on major digital platforms, opening the experience to an international audience.
A point of special interest will be the Recognition of Excellence, which in this edition will recognize Laura Zommer, Patrícia Campos Mello, and the media outlet Armando.info for their defense of truth and resistance to censorship and misinformation. They will participate in a discussion on the threats facing journalism in Latin America.
A journalism that challenges and reinvents itself
The current edition of the Gabo Award demonstrates the maturity of Ibero-American journalism, demonstrating a preference for environmental issues in the Amazon, the denunciation of organized crime, and the memory of communities affected by policies of violence or negligence. However, there is also a need to broaden our focus to include other urgent problems, such as large cities impacted by climate change and the search for innovative social solutions.
The work of the finalists is characterized by methodological rigor, in-depth observation, and a clear commitment to contemporary narrative formats: from chronicles to documentary podcasts and high-impact visual analysis. Also noteworthy is the transnational collaboration in many of the investigations, as well as the integration of technologies such as artificial intelligence in the tracking of drug leads or the analysis of open data.
The award-winning voices in this edition not only reflect the region's harshest reality, but also pave the way for new ways of reporting and understanding social, political, and environmental phenomena. The award also highlights the importance of memory and resistance, not only as topics for coverage but as pillars of journalistic practice.
The 13th edition of the Gabo Prize thus consolidates its position as the best showcase for contemporary journalism in Spanish and Portuguese, fostering a necessary conversation about the present and future of the profession on both sides of the Atlantic.
