Beauty pageants come and go, especially in this day and age when such ventures have mushroomed left and right in almost every corner of the Globe. And the Philippines is acknowledged as one of the leaders in putting up contests that give the spotlight to all genders, race, shapes and sizes – female, male and the LGBTQi Community.

Last May 19, a gay beauty pageant had its finals in Catanauan that followed the launch of the LGBT Quezon 3rd District. It is called “Queen Gay Peninsula 2018”. Sponsored by the generous Aris Aguirre (right photo in dark blue shirt) who is set to run as Representative of the 3rd District of Quezon, the big event serves to unite all members of the community in an organization that will seek to reach out and institute future projects that will go beyond pageant glitter. While the contest was envisioned as an annual celebration of Pride, it will also endeavor to continuously protect the rights of each member en route to strengthening an important advocacy regarding HIV awareness and prevention, while instilling the values of respect, equality and diversity to encourage a creative and innovative environment from the grassroots level and up.

LGBT Quezon 3rd District is headed by its President Dave Lee Aguirre Reyes, along with the ever-reliable Project Manager Kristofferson Domantay Tan (who has been handling District-wide pageants/events since 2001) and Public Relation Head Jullos Alimpulo.

Looking forward to more significant activities from the organization from hereon now. I know that the team can elevate the LGBTQi Community in the 3rd District of Quezon and the entire Province eventually.

Here are more photos from the Queen Gay Peninsula 2018 finals.