Framingham honors 12 at first Hispanic Heritage Month event

The City of Framingham announced Oct. 22 that it held its inaugural Hispanic and Latino Heritage Month Recognition Ceremony on Oct. 14, honoring 12 community members for their leadership, service and cultural contributions.

The honorees represented fields including education, public safety, business, nonprofit leadership, health equity, arts, youth development and civic engagement. The new annual program follows the format of the city's existing Black History Month ceremony in February and Women's History Month ceremony in March.

The Framingham Cultural Council and Mass Cultural Council provided grant support for the event. Honorees were chosen through a public nomination process reviewed by a selection committee that included state Rep. Priscila Sousa, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Jesse Edwards, Hoops and Homework Executive Director Kevin Lopez, Workers' Compensation and Safety Coordinator Jenelee Tejeda, Framingham Police Sgt. Richard Pomales, Public Information Officer Susan Scully Petroni and Webmaster Renan Pinheiro.

State Rep. Priscila Sousa gave remarks at the event, which was hosted by Ivanna Hilewsky, a bilingual journalist with Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra and NBC10 Boston. Saxonville Burrito and Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra also supported the celebration.

The 12 honorees were Gladys Calder (posthumous), Jennifer De Leon, Mauricio Perea, Pablah Schwartz, Tatiana Vasconcellos, Deputy Fire Chief Jose Lopez de Victoria, Lino Covarrubias, Victor Diaz and Phillip Gonzalez, among others recognized at the ceremony.

Edwards said in the release, "Tonight is not about politics. It's about people and belonging. It's about affirming that our community is stronger because of the people who live here, work here and raise their families here, build businesses here, educate our children, and contribute to our city every single day."

The ceremony included a display featuring the biographies and cultural heritage of the honorees, along with flags representing their ancestral roots.

Source: City of Framingham announcement, October 29, 2026.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the original announcement.