HAVANA, Cuba (AP) -- Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy who captured the
                 hearts of two nations, marked his 8th birthday Thursday, two years after his
                 fateful ocean voyage sparked a tug of war between his relatives in Cuba and
                 in the United States.

                 Cuba's official media commemorated the date, saying that Elian "will happily
                 celebrate in his homeland his eight years of life" with a small party in his hometown
                 of Cardenas, about 85 miles east of Havana.

                 A media tour of government recuperation efforts in the Cardenas region, which
                 was hard hit by Hurricane Michelle in early November, was set for Thursday
                 afternoon. It included a stop by Elian's school for a birthday celebration.

                 The government said Ricardo Alarcon, president of Cuba's National Assembly, or
                 parliament, would participate in the tour.

                 There was no official word on attendance by President Fidel Castro, who traveled to
                 Cardenas forElian's 7th birthday party. Castro also visited the town the year before,
                 for a 6th birthday party held for Elian, who was then staying with his relatives in Miami.

                 Alarcon, long Castro's point man on Cuba-U.S. affairs, played a key role in this
                 communist country's efforts to have Elian repatriated after the boy's Miami relatives
                 refused to return him to his father in Cuba.

                 Elian was rescued off the Florida coast in November 1999 after his mother and
                 most of the other passengers traveling illegally from Cuba to the United States died
                 when their boat capsized.

                 The boy was temporarily placed with relatives in Miami who, backed by other
                 Cuban exiles, launched an international custody battle to keep the child in the United
                 States.

                 In response, Castro organized nearly daily rallies to demand that Elian be returned to
                 Cuba and reunited with his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez.

                 Elian returned to Cuba on June 28, 2000, after a seven-month legal and political
                 battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court.

                  Copyright 2001 The Associated Press.