Date: Monday, 27 March 2000, at 7:33 a.m.
Mary 'appears' near Elian
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BY SANDRA MARQUEZ GARCIA smarquez@herald.com
A cloud-like image believed by some to be an apparition of the Virgin Mary
graced the window pane of a Miami bank located just blocks from the home of
Elian Gonzalez Saturday -- stopping traffic and offering hope to hundreds of
supporters who want to keep the Cuban boy here.
Bank employees first spotted the luminous reflection -- capped by an
iridescent mixture of gold, purple and green -- earlier this week. As word of
the vision spread, and the colors failed to fade with repeated cleanings, the
entrance of Totalbank, 468 NW 27th Ave., has come to resemble a shrine.
On Saturday, women with curlers still in their hair hastily dropped their
chores to pay homage to the Virgin. They were joined by families in
sport-utility vehicles with camcorders and others on their way home from
weddings and grocery stores.
Some people rubbed their babies against the window pane for good luck. Others
scrubbed the surface with paper towels to see if they could make the image go
away.
Tessy Lopez, 62, of Miami Beach beamed with joy as she regarded the
apparition. Like many others gathered at the site, Lopez said she considered
it to be a sign of an impending miracle for Elian, the 6-year-old Cuban
rafter who survived a voyage that killed his mother and 10 others.
''I think that boy is blessed. Many people gave their lives for that boy, and
he lives blocks from here,'' Lopez said. ''We must realize this is an
important sign.''
Louise Molina, 47, of Fontainebleau described the vision this way: ''I can
see that she has a golden glow above her head, and she is looking down. To me
that means sadness.''
Molina said there is an obvious desire by many to regard the apparition as a
symbol of hope for Elian. But she believed it has broader meaning.
''She wants us to change our ways,'' Molina said. ''When people have faith
they do good things.''
Not everyone was able to distinguish the Virgin from the cloudy reflection.
''I see the reflections, but I don't see it,'' said Carmen Rodriguez, 50,
with a tinge of disappointment. ''I think some people can see it and others
not. Perhaps it's based on necessity.''
Eulalia Asencio, 29, expressed skepticism. She said she had carefully touched
the window pane to see if air conditioning might have caused the image to
appear.
''It looks like when you get Windex and then you have that rainbow action
going on,'' Asencio said. ''I really think it is the reflection of the
light.''
A few blocks away, Armando Gutierrez, the spokesman for Elian's Miami
relatives, said he had driven past the bank building but had not stopped to
see for himself.
''All signs are good signs,'' said Gutierrez, who described Elian's
great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, and his family as ''very religious.''
One day after the Immigration and Naturalization Service issued a new
ultimatum to the family to agree to a speedy appeal of the custody dispute
over the boy,Gutierrez said Elian's defense team still had not met to discuss
their response. The family plans to appeal a federal judge's decision last
week upholding the INS decision to send the boy back to his father in Cuba.
Lead attorney Spencer Eig is Jewish and working on a Saturday would violate
his religious beliefs, Gutierrez said.
''We cannot discuss the letter until sundown [Saturday],'' Gutierrez said.
Some 50 Elian supporters camped outside the boy's home said they were on a
state of ''high alert'' awaiting word from exile leaders on when to mobilize
a civil disobedience campaign in Miami.
Among the actions already under way: a petition drive and lots of praying,
said Felisa Torre, who packed sandwiches and a beach chair to make her vigil
outside the home more comfortable.
''We are praying so that the heart of Seqorita [Janet] Reno will become
sweeter and she will see that Elian is a poor boy who cannot go back to
Cuba,'' Torre said, referring to the U.S. attorney general.
-- Flash (flash@flash.hq), March 27, 2000