The Associated Press
Friday , April 14, 2000

MIAMI –– While protesters filled the streets outside Elian Gonzalez's house to wait for the government's next move, relatives and Cuban exile leaders kept their own vigil inside, gathered around a big-screen television.

Only the guest of honor, his feet blackened from playing barefoot in the back yard, seemed oblivious to the tension Thursday. Before a federal appeals court issued a stay at least temporarily putting off Elian's transfer to his father, almost everyone in the house was teary-eyed.

Many people smoked and talked on cell phones. In the kitchen, the only quiet room in the house, Elian's great-aunt Angela baked chicken, cooked rice and fried meat in a pan.

The peek into the life of the Gonzalez family came on an extraordinary day, with the family defying a federal order to relinquish custody of Elian and daring the government to remove the boy by force. It was provided by a pool reporter allowed into the home.

While the family watched the news nervously, Elian hovered around his cousin Marisleysis, sitting in her lap and playfully putting his finger in her ear while she sat on a leather love seat.

When Elian's home video was played, in which he tells his father he doesn't want to return to Cuba, everyone clapped and cheered. Elian stood in the center and smiled, watching himself on the giant screen.

Much of the city's Cuban leaders were there: Jose Basulto of the Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue, for example, along with several priests and pastors. Actor Andy Garcia and singer Gloria Estefan came by, as did Donaldo Dalrymple, one of the fishermen who rescued Elian last fall.

When Attorney General Janet Reno appeared on TV, the living room went silent. Great-uncle Lazaro Gonzalez occasionally lifted his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. Marisleysis jeered when Reno mentioned her name.

There was Elian paraphernalia around the house – and lots of it: framed newspaper articles, a stuffed toy dolphin, artwork people have given him, a card from his Miami classmates.

When the stay was issued, everyone broke into celebration, with hugs and handshakes.

The Rev. Manuel Salabarria high-fived Lazaro Gonzalez and exclaimed, "I love you!" After a woman congratulated Lazaro, he responded: "Justice must prevail."

                                    © 2000 The Associated Press