Ezekiel C. Mobley Jr., founder of Hola!, the first Spanish-speaking TV program in Pittsburgh and a champion of Latin- and African-American unity, died at UPMC Shadyside Saturday. The Highland Park resident was 53.

Kathryn Grabowski, his wife of 15 years, said he had surgery to have his appendix removed and experienced complications.

Before she could stop reeling, she said, the calls and e-mails had become staggering: "Overwhelming," she said, "but wonderful to know so many people out there appreciated Ezekiel and the work he was doing. Maybe some of what he was hoping for might come to pass."

He was hoping for an affinity to grow between his own African-American people and Latinos, a people he had grown to love as a neighborhood organizer in Los Angeles.

A native of New York City, Mr. Mobley was executive director of the nonprofit United Neighborhood Council in Los Angeles before he came to Pittsburgh in 2003.

In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette two years ago, he said the black presence was missing in the popular presentation of Latino culture, especially in Pittsburgh, and he wanted people to realize its viability.

"I remember him talking about 'the urban state' and that the best way for the two to improve their situation was together," said his wife. "He was so outgoing that he learned Spanish because he wanted to talk to people."

A graduate of Howard University and the Georgetown University law school, Mr. Mobley served in the U.S. Army, worked as a legislative analyst for a Washington, D.C., councilman, then earned a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University and a master's in urban and regional planning from the London School of Economics.

Ms. Grabowski, who directs the executive MBA program at the University of Pittsburgh business school, is a Pittsburgh native who brought him here in 2003. He was able to produce Hola! the same year, on PCTV-Channel 21.

Brent Rondon, spokesman for the Latin American Cultural Union and an occasional panelist on his show, said, "We are very hurt" by his passing, "and we will truly miss his presence among our community."

Mr. Mobley joined the cultural union's board last fall and helped instigate the first joint program of African and Latin Americans for Black History Month last February. At Mr. Mobley's invitation, representatives of the state office for Latino affairs visited Pittsburgh for the first time several years ago, said Mr. Rondon.

"He so enjoyed the spirit of the Latin culture," said Mr. Rondon. "He shared the warmth of the culture with us. We loved him."

Mr. Mobley came to abhor the denial of African roots in Mexico, a subject on which he spoke last March at John Moores University in Liverpool, England. He was supposed to accompany a group of African Americans to Mexico this summer and deliver a lecture at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania this fall on African-American and Latino relations, said Ms. Grabowski.

A member of the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, he also promoted comprehensive immigration reform.

Besides his wife, he is survived by his mother, Dr. Ora Williams Mobley Sweeting of Los Angeles; sister Candida Mobley Wright of Los Angeles; and a half-sister, Sandra Mobley-Terry of Buffalo, N.Y.

Arrangements are pending. A memorial service will be held later this month.