BY SARA OLKON, DIANA
MARRERO AND ELAINE DE VALLE
A week after a federal raid swept Elian Gonzalez out of Miami, Calle
Ocho turned into a river of outrage, unity and mourning Saturday as
close to 100,000 people poured onto Little Havana's main street to
demonstrate their anger at the U.S. government and support for the
little rafter boy's Miami relatives.
''I don't think Elian should be returned to a repressive government.
He will just become a puppet of the state,'' said Ruben La Rosa, 35,
of Miami Shores.
Early arrivals waving
Cuban and U.S. flags gathered around the Bay of Pigs monument on 13th
Avenue, near a picture of Elisabeth Brotons -- Elian's mother -- who
died in the voyage from Cuba last November. Beneath the photo lay
flowers, a silver cross and a Cuban flag wreath of red, white and blue
carnations.
Many wore black
despite temperatures in the high 80s. Some cooled themselves with
circular paper fans that read ''I vote Republican.''
''We have suffered
from the heat, but the clothes are a sign of grief regardless of
whether it's warm or not,'' said Maria Mesa, 55, a social worker. ''We
didn't come here for a picnic or for joy.''
Eighteen people were
treated on the scene, mostly for fainting or heat exposure, said Danny
Maree, Miami Police Fire-Rescue chief.
Miami Police Lt. Rene
Landa said about 100,000 people attended the event.
Elian's Miami
relatives, great-uncle Lazaro Gonzalez and his family, were not there.
Family spokesman Armando Gutierrez, who did attend, said they were
still recuperating from the shock of the raid April 22 that removed
the child from their home.
Several smaller
counterdemonstrations in support of the government's action also took
place around the county. The largest, along U.S. 1 in South Dade,
attracted about 2,500 people, police said. It was largely peaceful,
with two arrests late Saturday for battery and disorderly conduct.
MANY CRITICIZED
Many demonstrators there railed against local Cuban-American
politicians and said it was the Gonzalez family that broke the law.
Hundreds waved American flags. A handful displayed Confederate flags.
At the Little Havana
demonstration, many demonstrators wore ribbons -- white for peace,
black for mourning and green for hope, such as the one on Ana Bonnin,
56, of Miami Beach, who came from Cuba when she was 18.
''I know God will
still do a miracle. I believe he does things his own way,'' said
Bonnin, who showed bruises on her ribs and legs that she said came
from being kicked by police officers at a previous protest.
LEFTOVER ANGER
Some protesters were tense when they arrived because of clashes with
police officers during protests last week. Some demonstrators have
complained of police brutality.
Urpi Byron, 25, a
student at Florida International University, carried a sign that read
''Please don't hurt me. I'm peacefully protesting.'' She said her
mother was pepper-sprayed in the eyes last weekend.
Fellow protesters
carried signs that read: ''Say no to police donations,'' and ''We
demand respect, we pay taxes.'' But others said they saw few officers
on the street.
Pembroke Pines
resident Ann Sigler, 42, walked from Le Jeune Road to south of Fourth
Avenue carrying a picture of a crying President Lincoln and said she
did not see one officer in 38 blocks, which delighted her.
The isolated
incidents of vandalism on April 22, she said, were ''provoked by
police who had zero tolerance.''
Miami Police Lt. Bill
Schwartz said that there were actually ''several hundred officers,''
including those from Miami-Dade Police and Florida Highway Patrol, at
the event and that more field forces were ready just in case. They had
not changed their strategy, he said.
''This is how we
would approach any type of peaceful demonstration,'' he said, adding
that there were no arrests or incidents. ''We've had nothing but good
reports. Some officers are reporting that people are going up and
hugging them.''
City Manager Donald
Warshaw said later Saturday that he had fulfilled his promise.
''I committed to the
Miami City Commission [Thursday] that this event would show the entire
world that Miami is a peaceful and wonderful community,'' Warshaw
said. ''I am convinced those wounds [from last week's protests] were
quickly healed.''
OLIVE BRANCH
So is Officer Richard Perez, who had a brief, tense moment about 5:30
p.m. as people leaving the area swarmed around his car that was parked
at Southwest Eighth Avenue since 9 a.m.
''At first I was
uneasy, but I realized they didn't want to hurt me. On the contrary,
they were there to shake my hand and hug me,'' Perez said. ''It was a
great feeling, being Cuban American and raised in this community.
Today was a great day.''
Lt. Landa, who
coordinates police plans for special events, echoed that sentiment. He
said most officers did not expect any mayhem.
''The crowd that
comes out for these events, like the prayer vigil a few weeks ago, are
there for the real cause, are the people we never have problems
with,'' said Landa, who called the few who set fires and threw rocks
last week ''thugs and antagonizers.''
Miami-Dade Mayor Alex
Penelas said he was impressed with the number of people of all ages
and all nationalities who attended the main protest. He was also glad
that the image portrayed to the world was one of a solemn and serene
mood.
''It was a strong
expression of emotions, but it was done peacefully. It was done in
calm, in a nonviolent fashion,'' Penelas said.
''That's the kind of
image that is important to send out to the rest of the country.''
SENSE OF BETRAYAL
Still, the word on protesters' lips was betrayal.
''[Last] Saturday was
the marking day for the death of liberty,'' said Emiseo de la Guardia,
45, who lives near Homestead and works for the county water and sewer
department.
He brought his two
daughters -- Vanesa, 15, and Natalie, 13 -- to present a positive,
peaceful image of the Cuban community, which he said had been
maligned.
Arturo Campa, 56, a
black Cuban who came to the United States in 1959, said he wanted to
reach out to Miami's blacks.
''My message to the
rest of the community, especially the black community in Miami, is to
help us out with our struggle for freedom because they, better than
anyone, should understand that obtaining freedom is indeed a
struggle,'' said the music producer for the Miami Latin Jazz Festival.
''I also want to make
them aware that the resistance leaders in Cuba today are black.''
The protest
culminated at Fourth Street about 4 p.m. at a large stage with a
podium where exile activists and several religious leaders of
different races spoke and prayed.
Exile radio
commentator Armando Perez Roura said Cubans had been stigmatized.
''Cubans are decent
people and we respect the laws. They are accusing us of many things to
weaken our cause and to separate us.''
That was why Nieves
Lopez traveled from her Boynton Beach home to take part in the march,
the first protest she has attended.
''There are a lot of
layers to this story that the average American can't understand. The
Cuban people have been presented as boorish, dumb, reactionary, and
that's just so unfair,'' said Lopez, an English teacher who grew up in
Ohio.
''I have found more
veiled racism here. I've heard people say, 'All those Cubans should go
back in a boat,' and they're calling us reactionary? Some people
complain that they have given Cubans everything. My father wasn't
given anything. [My parents] came to this country poor. They worked at
very menial jobs and saved to send me to college.''
OPPOSITION
The crowd cheered as two Brothers to the Rescue planes flew overhead.
But moments earlier, they booed as planes flew across the cloudless
sky at about 4:30 p.m., with a sign that read, ''Don't fight your
battles here, go home and fight your war.'' Another banner read:
''America loves Janet Reno.''
''Very rude,'' said
Hialeah-born Gloria Martinez, 35. ''We would go back if we could.''
Two who don't agree
with protesters found themselves on Calle Ocho at 3 p.m. anyway. Hugo
Miranda and Augusto Montecinos, 24-year-old students from Bolivia,
live nearby and went to grab a bite at their favorite neighborhood
eatery, Taquerias El Mexicano.
''We strongly believe
the boy does belong with his father,'' Miranda said. ''It's hard to
see it any other way.''
Carlos Leon, 38, said
most people do not understand that the father has no rights in Cuba,
the homeland he left when he was 8. ''Kids belong to the state,'' he
said.
''It's not that he
shouldn't be with his dad,'' said Kathy Pereda, who said she wanted
the courts to decide.
Herald staff
writers Ivette M. Yee, Tyler Bridges, Marika Lynch and Barbara de
Lollis and Herald writers Jasmine Kripalani, Mireidy Fernandez and
Janice Gallagher contributed to this report.
Copyright
2000 the Miami Herald.
Republished here with the permission of the Miami Herald. No further
republication or redistribution is permitted without the written
approval of The Miami Herald.
