HAVANA, Cuba (AP) --Life has never been the same for Elian Gonzalez since an
ill-fated attempt to take him to the United States left his mother dead and made him the
focus of an international tug-of-war.

The boy turned 9 years old in his hometown on Friday before the eyes of the
press and with celebrations in all of the city's schools.

Elian remains an icon on both sides of the Florida Strait -- a symbol of betrayal
to many Cuban-Americans furious at his return to Cuba and a the focus of a
major publicity campaign for the communist government on the island.

Cuban officials say they have tried to create a relatively normal life for the child
who lived under the constant vigilance of television cameras during his
seven-month stay in the United States from November 1999 to June 2000.

But few 9-year-olds have a museum dedicated to the fight for their custody or
see their birthday celebrated in schools throughout their hometown. Cardenas is
about 85 miles (140 kilometers) east of Havana.

The Communist Party youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde dedicated a full page
to Elian on Friday, publishing photos that showed him in a suit and tie alongside
his father Juan Miguel Gonzalez and sitting atop a horse and a motor scooter
with relatives.

Castro himself showed up for Elian's 7th birthday in 2000, less than six months
after U.S. officials returned him to Cuba.

Elian was rescued off Florida after his mother and most of the other passengers
traveling illegally from Cuba to the United States died when their boat capsized.

The boy was temporarily placed with relatives in Miami who, backed by other
Cuban exiles, fought to keep the child in the United States.

In response, Castro organized nearly daily rallies to demand that Elian be
returned and reunited with his father.

Elian returned to Cuba on June 28, 2000, after a legal battle that went to the
U.S. Supreme Court.

Copyright 2002 The Associated Press.