Toby de Lys is a native New Yorker, who after residing in various major countries around the world –along with his spouse decided that Colombia was the best nation in which to live in or the 21st Century. Graduate and post-graduate studies included Architecture (at the Princeton School of Architecture), Theoretical Physics, Bio-Engineering, Art, Art History, Music, Music History, Philosophy, and Philology as he has native-level fluency in several languages acquired during his early academia in Switzerland. 

De Lys also identified Bogota as the most promising emerging market capital city to found his new business endeavors, principally the investment firm; Colombia Investing. In his CEO role, de Lys spearheads business development strategies and investment advisory for Colombia Investing to present local and international investors with innovative emerging market vectors and the high-yield opportunities that exist in Colombia.

De Lys and his husband Tigre Haller were married in Colombia and wrote the first bilingual guidebook about Bogota and its region; Bogota! A Bilingual Guide to the Enchanted City, published by Penguin-Random House and released internationally in June 2014. In Bogota, De Lys and Haller have become integral to the social and cultural fabric of the city and of Colombia. Along with his husband, de Lys founded the Bogota Anglo Theater; a professional theater company that also flourished into filmmaking ventures (having co-produced/written and directed five films; two of which premiered in Cannes, France). Currently, de Lys is endeavoring to create the first housing community for retiring expats in Colombia with a Canadian business partner. In his spare time; de Lys will also soon be creating the Colombian Bach Society.

Bogotá is Colombia’s sprawling, high-altitude capital. La Candelaria, its cobblestoned center, features colonial-era landmarks like the neoclassical performance hall Teatro Colón and the 17th-century Iglesia de San Francisco. It's also home to popular museums including the Museo Botero, showcasing Fernando Botero's art, and the Museo del Oro, displaying pre-Columbian gold pieces. 

Elevation: 8,661′

Area: 685 mi

Population: 7.181 million (2018)

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