There is something about Cuba that is very hard to describe or define. I keep thinking that soon it will all be clear and easy to write about. But it only gets more mysterious. Today I experienced the Cuban Mothers' March for young Elian. It was a phenomenal display of harmony and an event that ran like a Swiss watch.

Yesterday, if had you asked, my opinion would have been that Elian was not a big deal to most Cubans and that Cuban organizations were slow and anything but organized. Not today. The home where I am staying in Havana is about a block from the American government office, what would be called the Embassy if there were diplomatic relations between our countries.

It was the focal point of the March and the location of previous Elian demonstrations. It is also the location of several billboards demanding the return of Elian. I wandered freely around the area with my cameras and even into a highrise building for a better vantage point. People were friendly and gracious to me even knowing that I was from the place where Elian is being "held captive."

"Return our child! Return our child!" they chanted in Spanish. But it was not aggressive or violent. Somewhere between 80 and 150 thousand women and children marched along the Malecon, the street that curves along the Havana waterfront. It stretched for miles, literally further than the eye could see. It was an aweome spectacle with the surf crashing against the picturesque wall that separates Havana from the sea. Were they obligated to attend? Perhaps. Was the entire event choreographed for CNN? Certainly. But whether or not it could be perceived in a soundbite or understood by American culture, the heart of the Cuban community was there on display. The irony of the situation, on this island of inexplicable contrasts, is that that the Cuban Mothers' March was for a child who was with his mother when she died while trying to escape.