By Sue Anne Pressley and April Witt
                  Washington Post Staff Writers

                  MIAMI, April 19—In the streets outside the Little Havana house where
                  Elian Gonzalez has been living, jubilant demonstrators who have sacrificed
                  sleep, work and home life to fight for the 6-year-old's continued stay in the
                  United States felt vindicated today: They had fought the intimidating forces
                  of the federal government and won, at least for now.

                  With cries of "Thank you, God" and "God bless America," many burst into
                  tears as soon as the favorable decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of
                  Appeals was announced, ordering the boy to remain here as his political
                  asylum case is appealed. Well-wishers rushed to hug Elian's great-uncle
                  Lazaro Gonzalez, who has since last week defied the federal order to
                  surrender the boy to his Cuban father. And a group of 100 protesters who
                  had protectively encircled the house to ward off federal authorities felt
                  secure enough--for a moment anyway--to break formation and march
                  triumphantly down the street behind a sign denouncing Attorney General
                  Janet Reno.

                  Flush with victory, and evoking biblical images of David besting the giant
                  Goliath with a slingshot, they said their resolve has only been strengthened,
                  their energies recharged. They will continue to fight for as long as it takes
                  to ensure that Elian will never return to Cuba.

                  "Fidel is going to have a heart attack today," said social worker Rafael
                  Penalever about the Cuban president who has demanded Elian's return.
                  "The Cuban people in Miami are joined at this moment, and nobody can
                  take Elian back.

                  "The Cubans are going to blockade the streets and blockade the airport
                  for months if that is what it takes--there are many bad things that will
                  happen if they try to take Elian from us."

                  At first, confusion reigned, as many of the people keeping vigil outside the
                  house seemed to interpret the ruling as confirmation that the major battle
                  was won and that Elian would not be going back to Cuba at all. Street
                  vendors immediately displayed a new line of red, white and blue T-shirts
                  that said, "Elian Lives in America Now."

                  But gradually, the realization dawned that there is nothing to prevent
                  officials with the Immigration and Naturalization Service from coming to
                  take the boy to Juan Miguel Gonzalez, his father waiting in Washington.
                  And, although the celebration continued, it was with a feeling that all guards
                  must remain up.

                  "No one should make predictions on the ultimate outcome based on this
                  order," said Miami family attorney Kendall Coffey, speaking to the
                  growing hordes of protesters and reporters outside the house. "The family
                  is very grateful for the obviously serious concern and study that is being
                  received, but this is a preliminary order, it is not a final decision. . . . We
                  call upon the INS to take no precipitous action between now and the time
                  this appeal is heard. Because it is so clear that the rights of a child have to
                  be heard without further disruption, without further dislocation, without
                  further trauma of any sort."

                  The family received the news today "tearfully and with prayer," he said.
                  "Recent days have been very difficult, days of unrelenting pressure from
                  every source," he said. "But they stood courageously."

                  Speaking through an interpreter, Lazaro Gonzalez said that "the Gonzalez
                  family continues to believe in the laws of the United States and we will
                  continue to pray . . . that Elian will remain here where his mother wanted
                  him to be, in a country of freedom."

                  The family has been keeping the child since his rescue off the South Florida
                  coast on Thanksgiving Day, one of three survivors of a shipwreck in which
                  his mother and nine others drowned. Since last week, the five-month saga
                  has taken on a new urgency, as Lazaro Gonzalez refused to give up the
                  boy and federal officials refused to back down from their plans to come
                  and get him, by force if need be.

                  It was unclear what might happen next, in terms of the boy's transfer to his
                  father. Although police here were busy reinforcing barricades around the
                  neighborhood, several said it was unlikely that any federal authorities
                  would come to get the boy this evening with the crowd so large and the
                  traffic snarled by revelers.

                  The celebration continued to grow, despite the uncertainties. A honking
                  motorcade crawled through the streets of Little Havana, and children hung
                  out the windows of a school bus, shouting, "Viva Cuba Libre"--long live
                  free Cuba. Many in the crowd dabbed at tears as the anti-government
                  feelings of the past few days seemed to be replaced by a patriotic fervor;
                  American flag pins appeared on lapels and someone began singing "The
                  Battle Hymn of the Republic."

                  About the only dissenting voice to be found was high above, on a banner
                  trailing a small plane. "Send Elian Home--The Taxpayers," it said. Recent
                  news reports have estimated that the dispute has cost local governments
                  here more than $1 million in police overtime pay and other expenses.

                  As those around him hugged and cheered, Humberto Perez shared the
                  elation, but not the sentiment that the worst might be over. One of the first
                  paratroopers to land in Cuba during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion 39
                  years ago, and a veteran of two tours in Vietnam, he is not ready to
                  declare a final victory--or a peaceful end to the ordeal.

                  "The boxing match is 12 rounds. This is the 10th round and this one is in
                  favor of us," Perez said. "Justice and the law are two different things. I'm
                  here now for justice, not for the law. I respect the laws of this country. . . .
                  [But] the veterans of the Bay of Pigs are here . . . to protect the child. It's
                  that simple."

                  Special correspondent Catharine Skipp in Miami contributed to this report.