(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
AILSA CHANG, HOST: A musician and actor - a mentor - an activist - a devoted father - a humanitarian.
GRACIELLA SERNA: That was Noe Montoya. If I were to give you a definition, that would be it.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: Graciella Serna (ph) lived next door to Noe Montoya, who died Thanksgiving morning at his home in Hollister, Calif. He had tested positive for COVID-19 the week before.
CHANG: Serna says his world was one filled with music.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
MONTOYA: (Singing in Spanish).
CHANG: Through the walls, she would hear him play his guitar, an instrument he picked up some 50 years ago, around the time he and Serna first became friends, marching alongside migrant workers sometimes led by Cesar Chavez.