Many motorists driving by the busy intersection honked in support. A minority reacted angrily. One called out, "Go back to Cuba" after hearing chants of "Cuba sí, bloqueo no!" (Cuba yes, blockade no!)

Nearly half the protesters were Cubans living in Miami, including members of the Alliance of Workers in the Cuban Community and the Antonio Maceo Brigade.

A couple of passersby joined the action. They included a Guatemalan worker shopping at a nearby mall. "I totally agree with what you say," she stated, after seeing signs demanding the U.S. government normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba and repeal the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act.

Most local TV channels and major papers had reporters on the scene. Three television stations gave brief coverage to the protest during that evening's news broadcasts, along with another action by several dozen people outside the INS building earlier that day demanding that Elián González stay in the United States.

Rollande Girard is a sewing machine operator in Miami. Kristin Meriam, a member of United Steelworkers of America Local 12014 in Birmingham, and Jim Altenberg in San Francisco contributed to this article.  
 
 
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