BY SANDRA MARQUEZ GARCIA

 In Hialeah, a mostly working class community of Cuban refugees, Tuesday's work
 stoppage paralyzed commerce as most banks, restaurants, factories, and shops closed
 their doors in a bottom-line show of support for Elian Gonzalez.

 With nary a coffee counter open where people could exchange opinions, hundreds
 of factory workers, students, housewives and business owners took to the streets
 -- packing sidewalks and slowing traffic. Driving elaborately decorated minivans,
 Oldsmobiles, trucks and scooters, protesters formed a spontaneous caravan to
 condemn the federal raid that snatched the rafter boy from his Miami relatives'
 Little Havana home.

 RESTAURANT CLOSES

 Chico's Restaurant, a 24-hour Hialeah dining spot frequented by the politically powerful
 and humble workers alike, closed its doors for the first time in 20 years.

 ''During Andrew we worked 38 hours without electricity,'' said co-owner Jesus Ovidez,
 61. ''With Hugo, everyone shut down, but we put up wood panels and kept working. We
 never shut down.''

 He and business partner Luis Castaño broke with tradition and gave their 58 employees
 a break Tuesday.

 ''I started thinking, money doesn't matter,'' Ovidez said. ''What matters is that this boy
 stay on this estancia.''

 Denny's restaurant at 1000 W. 49th St. took the opposite stance -- ignoring the call
 to strike and serving breakfast and lunch to a packed dining room. By 1:45 p.m., the
 restaurant shut down after receiving five telephone bomb threats, police and
 employees said.

 ''What I don't like is that the restaurant was full with people who live in this area,''
 said waitress Maria Guevara, 40. ''If this place had been empty, they would have
 sent us home earlier.''

 PULSE POINT

 The intersection of West 49th Street and 12th Avenue became the pulse point
 Tuesday -- and was also the scene of violent overnight protests that peaked
 when bottle-throwing crowds clashed with police, burned an American flag
 and looted nearby stores.

 Visual props included a life-size statue of San Lazaro, a leprous beggar revered
 by many Cuban Catholics, transported in a glass case. A green Nissan hauled a
 life-size skeleton with the message ''Fidel, this is how I want to see you,'' which
 also drew loud cheers.

 Blanca Correa, 62, a mother of five sons who left Cuba 34 years ago, wore a
 solemn expression as she waved a lone American flag.

 ''I am in mourning for the way that they have broken the heart of the Cuban
 Americans,'' Correa said. ''I am here not only for Elian, but for all the millions of
 children who do not have liberty.''

 A few feet away, about 20 employees from R&A Investments, a Hialeah company
 that manufactures parts for satellites and cellular phones, waved signs and held
 American flags upside down.

 ''I don't know if we will be paid today or not, but that doesn't matter,'' said Cristina
 Perez, 33. She said she was grateful that her boss, who is not Cuban-American,
 had given the company's 200 employees the day off.

 VERY INVOLVED

 Perez was joined by her 6-year-old daughter, Aimee Garcia, who she said had
 become emotionally involved in the rafter boy's cause. ''I want Elian to be just like
 me,'' Aimee said.

 Police kept a careful watch on the protests throughout the day -- prepared to don
 riot gear at a moment's notice.

 ''We are reactive right now. We are letting the protesters dictate our actions,'' said
 Officer Osvaldo Estrada. ''If they remain peaceful, we remain peaceful. If they get
 rowdy, we will do what we have to do.''

 By afternoon, officers had submitted paperwork on 22 arrests from the morning
 street clashes and more arrests were expected. Charges included disorderly
 conduct, unlawful assembly, rioting and vandalism.

 The demonstration, which began as a peaceful pro-Elian rally about 8 p.m.
 Monday, peaked after midnight, as crowds smashed display windows and
 stormed into Payless Shoes, Bell South Mobility and Just for Feet on 49th Street,
 looting merchandise from shelves, said Jose Caragol, Hialeah's spokesman.
 Property damage estimates were still being evaluated.

 An officer struck on the head with a bottle was treated at the scene, Caragol said.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald