Demi Lu Rose claims Miss Gay Aruba crown

She is thankful, proud and honored – as Demi Lu Rose is now the new Miss Gay Aruba, claiming the crown on July 22.

"I dreamed of (winning); I worked hard for it, and I made it," she told GoPride.com in an exclusive interview, a follow-up to the late-June profile story on Demi Lu Rose who, at the time, was simply Candidate No. 4.

"(Winning) means that now I have a public platform where I can promote LGBT life on the island, talk about the many issues we're still facing seeing that same-sex marriage is still not recognized through our court of law, and being a positive example for the young generation of the LGBT community."

Also at the sold-out finals, Demi Lu Rose was named Miss Best Body, Miss Photogenic, and Miss Evening Gown.

She celebrated the next day with a spa-day at the Ritz-Carlton Aruba, "which felt like the best thing in the world," she said, laughing.

Demi Lu Rose said her first focus in the new role is "to represent the Miss Gay Aruba organization as best as I can, seeing how after 25 years, the pageant is still seen by some as a mere spectacle and a taboo subject," she said. "My expertise is activism. This is something I'll be working on very closely with WE:ARE:ONE, an LGBT organization on the island, and will do my best to do this in conjunction with other institutions, because I want to create more inclusion and awareness towards visibility of the LGBT community on the island and create a campaign of equality for us all, so we can end some of the stigma and discrimination around the matter."

Demi Lu Rose admitted, winning brought tears.

Tears of joy, happiness and pride. "Especially, how proud I felt about myself for being a champion of love, tolerance, and for the LGBT community on the island, and with many thoughts on my late mother," Demi Lu Rose said.

"Being crowned Miss Gay Aruba 2018 is a huge honor and responsibility. I believe that the new representative should be a person that has met, overcome and conquered many fears, shame, humiliation, discrimination, and stereotype throughout his/her life in the community, and as a result can help others to overcome and conquer their difficulties by just being authentically themselves. That is exactly who I am, and (am) owning up to that; I can be of service by using my voice for the cause and be an advocate for the LGBT community."

Demi Lu Rose said her preparation for the finale was very personal. "I had to work on my own personal growth: being confident in myself, learning to work under duress, and most importantly, knowing that I was doing it for the right reasons," she said. "During this period, I learned to do things I never thought having the capacity in, (such as) creating my talent show, creating my costumes, and working with others in a competitive world without letting the competition change the essence of who I am. During this process, I've learned to accept my internal beauty, which today I can proudly say, I made, I'm the new Miss Gay Aruba, and now I'm ready to take this next chapter."

So, will this title change your personality?

"In principle, no title should change the essence of the person that you are from the inside," Demi Lu Rose said. "My promise to myself is to always walk with my principles and values as I have throughout this whole experience, always portraying the best of who I am as a person and thus representing the Miss Gay Aruba and always being authentically myself. If something the pageant has heightened of me, (it) is my personality, my vocation, and confidence in myself."