Imagine a beautiful table setting in a tropical garden next to a meticulously renovated historic home. Reminisce as selections of classic jazz and R&B from our hosts’ personal collection set the mood. Enjoy the breeze as it carries hints of a feast all gathered shall soon enjoy and sweet scents from the garden.

The event was a big gay Easter brunch in Africa where homosexuality is outlawed in 32 of 55 states. Our hosts, Danilo da Silva and his husband Igor were married in South Africa under Portuguese law but live openly in Maputo, Mozambique. I was there with my partner Mike and our friends James and Jeff who were married in Washington, D.C., right before they were posted to Maputo. In addition to an engagingly eclectic mix of straight and (mostly) LGBTQ friends from Africa and Europe, Danilo’s mother and younger brother were there; and the couple cares for Igor’s father who lives with them.

Danilo da Silva is executive director of LAMBDA Mozambique, founded in 2006 and supported by 164 full-time staff and volunteers across Mozambique. Da Silva is one of the co-founders and has been director for about eight years.

da Silva spoke on LGBTQ rights in Mozambique, living as a bi-racial couple, criminalization, and the state of coming out vs living in secrecy. Read more via Washington Blade