May 25, 2000, in the Miami Herald
Family members moving out of house
where Elian stayed
BY ANA ACLE
aacle@herald.com
Hidden in a sleepy West Miami backyard is the world's most photographed
swing set, El Parque de Elian, guarded by a friendly black Labrador named
Dolphin.
It all looks so familiar, except for the new address.
The Miami relatives of Elian Gonzalez have a new home. They may move from
their famous rented Little Havana house as early as next month if renovations
on their new home and the sale of the property are completed.
``They are moving,'' family spokesman Armando Gutierrez confirmed, ending
months of speculation.
It's a modest step up for the Gonzalezes. The 1948 three-bedroom, two-bath,
West Miami home is older but slightly roomier than their 1952 two-bedroom,
one-bath, Little Havana dwelling that still attracts tourists.
The family said they have not felt comfortable in the Little Havana home,
where they lived for more than a decade, after the government's armed raid
April 22. Since then, the family has been scattered in homes of relatives. The
Gonzalezes say they want privacy and have kept a low profile.
But the West Miami neighborhood already buzzes with the news. A neighbor,
curlers still in her hair, dropped by Tuesday with a cafecito for Lazaro
Gonzalez, who later that day gave the house a new coat of lime green paint.
West Miami Mayor Rebeca Sosa and the police chief have reportedly
welcomed them to their city.
``People I don't know wave to me if I'm standing outside,'' Lazaro Gonzalez
said. It's like that at restaurants, too. He can't go anywhere lately without being
stopped and offered condolences.
Posts have been dug for a privacy fence at the new home.
Their old home, damaged during the raid, could become a museum if some
Cuban exile organizations get their wish, but landlords John and Paula Massey
of Coral Gables won't comment on the possibility of a sale.
The West Miami residence, previously in foreclosure, was bought at an
auction in February for $112,500 in cash by Our First Home, owned by Luis
Aparicio and Roberto Curbelo Jr., a real estate investor and friend of the
Gonzalez family.
Curbelo, who announced in April his candidacy for the Miami-Dade County
Commission District 11 seat, often was seen carrying Elian on his shoulders
when the boy lived with his relatives and was in the home when the raid
occurred.
Plans are to sell the renovated home to Elian's great-uncle, Delfin Gonzalez,
who will in turn lease the home, with the option to buy, to brother Lazaro
Gonzalez, wife Angela and daughter Marisleysis. The arrangement is necessary
because Delfin qualifies for a mortgage; Angela works, but Lazaro is not
currently employed.
Some people have wondered if the Gonzalezes still hope that Elian may return
to them and therefore have kept Elian's toys and moved to a home with an
extra bedroom.
But Lazaro Gonzalez simply says he doesn't want looters taking any of Elian's
belongings.
``I don't want anyone profiting from Elian,'' Gonzalez said. ``There are people
who will buy anything of his for a lot of money.''
In fact, earlier this month, eBay pulled from its Internet auction a raft claiming
to be Elian's after bidding hit $10 million because the owner could not
document its origin. Elian was found clinging to an inner tube, not a raft.
Gonzalez gets upset when the conversation turns to Elian and the Communist
uniform in which the boy was recently photographed.
``They're teaching him how to be like Che -- an assassin and an asthmatic,''
Gonzalez says.
Ernesto Che Guevara, who helped Fidel Castro in his guerrilla war to overtake
Cuba, was an asthma sufferer. After saying the Communist refrain ``We will
be like Che,'' some Cuban exiles jokingly add in a low voice: ``Yes,
asthmatics.''
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