Needham Hispanas Find Connection through Language, Culture

September 29, 2025
• During Hispanic Heritage Month, community members share the significance that their culture has in their lives and work.

When she first moved to Needham eight years ago, Massiel Gallardo didn’t speak much Spanish. She encountered few residents who knew the language, making her feel somewhat isolated from her Mexican roots.

A WhatsApp group changed that. It’s where she and almost 120 Hispanas with Needham ties share news, offer support and create connections across dozens of ethnic and religious backgrounds. Gallardo said the group chat binds the Spanish-speaking part of Needham.

“That’s one of the few opportunities living in Needham that we have of continuing to keep our language alive,” she said. “You have that peace of mind that we’re here and that, even though our extended families may not be in Needham, or even in New England, that we still have that small connection and somewhat of a resemblance of extended family.”

National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, celebrates the cultures and contributions of the approximately 20 Spanish-speaking countries. Nearly 4% of Needham residents identify as Hispanic, according to 2020 U.S. Census data.

Needham first formally recognized National Hispanic Heritage Month in 2023, with the Select Board issuing a proclamation that notes that “the rich heritage, arts, histories, food, music, and traditions of all Latin-American nations span an array of many distinct cultures.”

Having learned a mix of different languages — mostly to find her way while traveling — Emily Paisner said she felt it important to teach her kids a language early in life. She enrolled them in Spanish programs prior to school age and hired a Spanish-speaking nanny to do just that.

But sensing a gap in educational opportunities for children who already have the language fundamentals, Paisner and Spanish teacher Esther Gomez created Amiguitos Exploradores, a weekly afterschool program in Needham catered to those young learners. Under the current pilot, 12 kindergarteners and first graders learn the language through creative play using different themes.

“There are so many Spanish speakers in our community,” Paisner said, “but there was no program that served folks who already speak the language and were yearning for a place to connect.”

The goal of the program is to build community, interact with peers in a second language and celebrate the cultures who speak it.

Over the next couple weeks, Gomez, who designed the 14-week curriculum, will lead activity-based instruction around Hispanic Heritage Month. Students will receive a passport they can use to “travel” to different countries and learn about the food, music, games and customs there.

Gomez, who is Mexican American, said the program and the holiday are “opening eyes to respect different traditions, to respect different opinions and ways of life and customs as well.”

“We want to introduce them, not just the language by playing, but also the cultural traditions. The Hispanic Heritage month is the perfect excuse,” she said. “I want to demonstrate that Hispanic countries, we have a lot of things that we can offer to the community and to the world.”

Given the full enrollment for the course, Paisner said “our gut was right, the interest is here.” Her son, a first grader, is one of the 12 students in the program.

“It serves a community that we’re not currently serving,” she said, “and there’s a need here.”

For Ivan Millan Pulecio, a major part of the holiday is the food. Originally from Cali, Colombia, he has run Hearth Pizzeria for the last 10 years. He started working in Needham back in 2007.

At the restaurant this month, Millan Pulecio said he plans to serve up Mexican-style corn pizza, using corn from nearby Volante Farms, and may add sancocho — a beef stew from Colombia — as a one-day special.

His Colombian heritage influences his approach to cuisine and cooking. Arepas, a maize-based flatbread popular in South America, inspired him to create a gluten-free pizza crust in his kitchen.

Having grown up in both Colombia and the United States, he said the holiday “brings me back to roots and being Hispanic.”

“Being able to experience both cultures at the same time was an adjustment period. There’s a lot of things that are different, but definitely it made me appreciate where I’m at today and where I came from,” he said. “Not only on food, but also our day-to-day life. There’s been great moments, and then there’s been some hard moments as well, with being Latino.”

Despite an eagerness to celebrate, some have expressed apprehension with publicly gathering for the occasion. A tense political climate, coupled with increased immigration enforcement, have stoked concern, said Gallardo, a member of the Needham Resilience Network. The NRN is a collection of community members who aim to create connections between different groups and to tackle local issues.

“There is currently fear in the community for the risk associated for undocumented, documented and including US citizens who present as Hispanic, and so I think that has put a damper on the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month in Needham,” Gallardo said. “It doesn’t mean that we no longer celebrate or that it puts a break on our pride and our joy for our heritage. It just translates into a lack of involvement in our communities.”

There are no scheduled events in Needham to honor Hispanic Heritage Month, but Millan Pulecio said “there’s definitely ways to celebrate.”

“That puts a little bit of tarnish on how we feel, our current situation,” he said of the current moment. “But you know, it’s not the first time that’s happened, and we just continue to move forward.”

Without a formalized group for Needham Hispanas, Gallardo said she hopes to unify Spanish speakers in town to ensure that cultural events happen and that they are “representing our heritage.”