José López Ramírez from Puerto Rico claims the prestigious Mr Gay World title. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane/African News Agency (ANA)
Cape Town - Mr Gay Puerto Rico, José López Ramírez, was crowned Mr Gay World at the 14th instalment of the competition, the first win from the region.
Mr Gay US, Antonio Ardolino, took the first runner-up spot while Mr Gay Germany, Max Appenroth, placed as the second runner-up. Appenroth made history as being the first transgender delegate in the finals of any international contest.
The glamorous contest, held at the Artscape after two years of being virtual due to the pandemic, saw eight delegates making it to the grand finale of this year’s event, all vying to be the next mouthpiece and role model for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Mr Gay World™ organisation founder Eric Butter said he was highly impressed by the calibre of delegates.
Butter said Mr Gay World™ should not be seen as a pageant but as a collective space for the coming together of gay men across the world to share an international stage and amplify their purpose in pursuit of equal access to human rights, social and political acceptance, tolerance and inclusion.
An excited López Ramírez said he had already taken over duties from Philippines Joel Rey Carcasona, last year’s winner.
López Ramírez, who spoke of his experiences as a queer person, said his win was an indication that anyone can enter and win the competition despite their language or physique.
“I want to be an inspiration and a role model for the young queer members and want to use social media as a tool to influence positive change and be able to reach out to every queer person in every corner of the world,” he said.
Mr Gay World acting president Coenie Kukkuk said López Ramírez embodied the image of the brand.
Kukkuk said he noted the small contingent of delegates who had entered the contest and attributed this to financial challenges and other travelling restrictions by other countries.
“It was important for us to have this event in person as it was held on virtual platforms for the past two instalments. We had great support from the City of Cape Town and Artscape which made sure that the contest was a great success,” he said.
While Kukkuk could not confirm the location for the next instalment of the contest, he maintained that “Cape Town is a very nice City”.
mthuthuzeli.ntseku@inl.co.za