Earlier, the family deliberately lost a pursuing news-media van along the way, according to an NBC news photographer. They know when he leaves for school or when he falls ill. They know when relatives buy him new clothes. This time, the draw is a little boy who has barely spoken a word in public but has already made an unintentional mark in history. It's a natural reaction,'' said Delfin Gonzalez, one of Elian's great-uncles in Miami.
Portable toilets accommodate the media horde and curious onlookers in front of the home.
A vendor selling roasted peanuts and another iced drinks work the crowd on weekends. Publicity-seekers go to the house to express their views on camera. Police have kept metal barricades up, blocking part of the street. We came out of curiosity and to show solidarity with the family,'' said Emanuel Rivera, who showed up with seven co-workers from downtown Miami during their lunch hour one day last week. Little Havana residents Manuel Rodriguez and Guillermina Sanchez, along with Sanchez's daughter, go by the Elian household often.