BY PAUL BRINKLEY-ROGERS AND CAROLYN SALAZAR

 Hundreds of Cuban Americans joined thousands of demonstrators Saturday protesting the actions of Miami Mayor Joe Carollo, in a second weekend of flag waving, chanting and ridiculing of city officials.

 The largest of three demonstrations, at Cauley Square from Southwest 221st Street to 227th Street, became a sea of red, white and blue as an estimated 4,000 protesters lined barricades to chant, ''U-S-A.'' Police said the gathering may have been twice as large as a similar, mostly white non-Hispanic protest last weekend, also in South Dade.

 About 1,000 people -- including for the first time many Cuban Americans -- gathered at U.S. 1 and Kendall Drive at the edge of Dadeland Mall. They called for the removal of Carollo from office for his role in the Elian Gonzalez affair, protested his firing of City Manager Donald Warshaw and declared their support for U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno.

 A much smaller group of artists, actors, environmentalists and longtime residents of Coconut Grove assembled at Peacock Park to engage in guerrilla theater. Anti-Carollo wags wearing yellow waved flags bearing the city of Miami seal superimposed on bunches of bananas, hurled the fruit at a portrait of the mayor, and danced to Harry Belafonte's 1950s hit, Day-O, The Banana Boat Song.

 The banana republic theme was also in evidence at Dadeland, especially among Cuban Americans and other Hispanics delighted to see fellow Latinos at a rally dedicated to the American flag. Many displayed signs reading ''Bravo Reno.''

 Ricardo Guerra, a Cuban American who said he has lived in Miami for 35 years, held a sign in Spanish asking for respect for ''diverse opinions'' and denouncing ''La Republica Bananera.'' Bananas dangled from his sign.

 Guerra said he decided to protest because ''Joe Carollo does not respect the law'' and because ''he has become the new tyrant . . . Many Cubans feel this way. Miami just hasn't heard from them, until now.''

 In a later interview, Carollo said, ''The bottom line is I'm not going to allow Miami to be the only city in America that has to be forced to keep a manager under such a huge cloud of corruption . . . I'm not going to back down or apologize for doing what's right for this city based upon principles.''

 Demonstrator Filomena Garza, a Cuban-American mother of three, was outraged that people in cars passing the protest waved the Cuban flag and gave her the finger. ''They are really hurting our community.'' she said. ''People everywhere are getting the impression that Cubans are rude and insane. I feel terrible about that.''

 Juan Montes, a Cuba-born former U.S. Army colonel who said he wants to run for mayor, remembered reciting the Pledge of Allegiance when he became an American citizen. ''It should be one flag, one nation, one God,'' Montes said.

 Cuban Americans, he said, ''should fly the Cuban flags in their hearts. They should not rub that flag into the face of this country that has been so good to them.''

 Montes said he was sad that a demonstrator -- ''this young American bloodhound'' -- told him to leave because he speaks with a Spanish accent. ''I told him I carried a gun into battle in Vietnam to defend his right to tell me what he did, and I sure as hell disagreed with him.''

 Another Cuban American, Luis Izquierdo, who said he came to the United States in the Mariel boatlift 20 years ago, turned out at the demonstration ''to defend this country, and to show my thanks.''

 ''Being disrespectful to the American flag,'' the 48-year-old construction worker said, ''does not destroy [Fidel] Castro. But it is destroying this city.''

 At Cauley Square, Pam Rose stood in the back of a pickup truck with her friends and family waving the American flag. ''It feels good to be able to come together as Americans and get our voices heard,'' she said.

 People around her, many wearing red, white and blue clothing, held up signs: ''Reno is our hero,'' and ''Carollo, get a life.'' Many draped the Stars and Stripes around their shoulders, or across their chests. The Star-Spangled Banner blared, but was drowned out by constant honking of car horns.

 ''This so-called Anglo community has felt isolated,'' said organizer Charlie Dundee. ''This is simply an overflow of emotions, and it's a reaction to Cubans who burn our flags and hurl insults at America.''

 Some war veterans said they felt insulted by people who denounced America following the removal of Elian Gonzalez from his Little Havana household.

 ''There are many people who have fought for this country and who have died for the American flag, and we need to stand up for it,'' said Eric VanDemark, sitting behind his pickup truck decorated with flags including the Confederate banner and a MIA/POW (Missing in Action/ Prisoner of War) flag.

 VanDemark, born in South Carolina, said he wanted to show he was proud of his roots. He pointed to the Confederate flag and said, ''This is about heritage, not hate.''

 But not everybody agreed.

 CONFEDERATE FLAG

 At Dadeland Mall, for example, a man who arrived with a Confederate flag was asked to take it back to his truck. ''This demonstration is all about something else, and that flag is all about racism,'' said organizer Barbara J. Holler. She said she had called organizations representing different ethnic groups to try to make the Dadeland gathering diverse, and was happy to see that some Haitians were among the demonstrators.

 Many people at Cauley Square clutched signs that were not reflective of diversity.

 ''If you don't like America then get out,'' one sign read. ''Real Americans don't wave Communist flags,'' said another. One read, ''Stop immigration.''

 A booth sold $8 T-shirts and $3 pins with a photo of Joe Carollo that said: ''Crazy Joe must go.''

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald