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The harboring case involving the owners of Abby’s Bakery in Los Fresnos has drawn widespread attention since news spread of their arrest.

As the case proceeded through Brownsville federal court, the fate of bakery owners Leonardo Baez and Nora Alicia Avila-Guel held particular weight on many who felt that the ensuing verdict could have resounding consequences on many throughout the United States.

One individual who was paying close attention to the case was acclaimed local author Viola Canales. The McAllen native is a lecturer at Stanford Law School and the author of the award-winning novel “The Tequila Worm.”

She said that she was drawn to the case given its proximity to her hometown and the picture it painted for many who, like her, grew up along the border.

“Right now, based on the conviction and the trial, the narrative out there is that Leonardo Baez and Nora Avila are criminals,” Canales said. “I think that the truer story is that they’re hard working people who are trying to not only make a living but to also help friends and family.”

Baez and Avila were both found guilty of all charges on Aug. 13. Canales said that she fears the outcome of the case could have troubling implications.

“It makes me feel that these two bakery owners are being demonized and they’re being attacked,” she said. “Not only that, but our Mexican-American culture is being demonized.”

She described the guilty verdicts as a “moral injustice,” and drew connections to her own childhood when she used to be punished for speaking Spanish in school. She said that the results of the case could have a ripple effect that sees more Mexican Americans being targeted.

Leonardo Baez and Nora Alicia Avila-Guel, owners of Abby’s Bakery in Los Fresnos, exit the federal courthouse in Brownsville after being found guilty of harboring people in the country illegally on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (Francisco E. Jimenez | The Monitor)

“I just felt really, really sad and angry because to me, what I’ve read about Leonardo and Nora, they’re very spiritual people,” Canales said. “They’re very religious people. And in that culture of spirituality and religion, it’s always to lend a hand and to see people not as others, but to see them all as the children of God.”

As she watched the case unfold, she drew inspiration from Baez and Avila’s story. Taking the anger and fear that she felt as a Mexican American, she utilized those emotions to do what she does best — write.

She is in the process of writing a draft for a new book titled, “Mary’s Bakery Trial: Twelve Pan Dulce Testify for Mary.”

Her book, which is still in its early stages, brings the reader into a courtroom where 12 pan dulce must testify on behalf of a bakery owner named Mary. Canales uses the pan dulce to tell a story of family and unity in the face of adversity.

“I have the pan dulce talk about their lives as far as how they helped shape and inspire people,” Canales said.

For Canales, and many others of Mexican-American heritage, pan dulce is more than just sweet bread. It is a staple of the culture that unites communities through a shared experience.

“What I’m saying to you is that attacking a panaderia where people work so hard to feed others and give other people joy is like criminalizing people for having the Virgin de Guadalupe because she’s from Mexico and dark skinned,” Canales said. “I felt very, very sad. I felt shocked, and I felt that this is a targeting of our community, of our culture, of Mexicans and Mexican Americans, of people who just want to help others.”

The post Author from McAllen reacts to guilty verdict for Los Fresnos bakery owners appeared first on MyRGV.com.