Yes, some may deny it or battle it, but we are in a new era of American relations with Cuba. Elian Gonzalez, the little boy who won so many American hearts when his mother drowned in 1999 getting him over to the United States, only to be forcibly sent back to Cuba in June 200o since his father there legally had custody, is now 21. He’s has been a hero in Cuba for his then-unknowing role in standing up to the United States. But now things have changed considerably with the United States and Cuba, and ABC News has a video here showing part of an interview with him, living a simple life with his father — and expressing and his desire to visit the US:

Elian Gonzalez would like to return to the United States, he tells ABC News in an exclusive interview.

“To the American people, first I say thank you for the love they give me,” Gonzalez said. “I want the time to give my love to American people.”

Gonzalez was found floating off of Florida’s coast in 1999, after the boat he was in with his mother capsized. Gonzalez stayed with his uncle in Miami, but the 6-year-old boy soon found himself at the center of a tug of war between Cuba and thebetween Cuba and the United States over whether he should remain in this country or be returned to his father in Cuba.

Today, Gonzalez says he’d like to come back to the United States, but only as a tourist, telling ABC News he’d like to see a baseball game, visit Washington museums and talk to Americans.

“For my family it has always been, we always have the desire to say to the American people, to say to each household our gratitude, appreciation and love that we have,” he said. “Perhaps one day we could pay a visit to the United States. I could personally thank those people who helped us, who were there by our side. Because we’re so grateful for what they did.”

Gonzalez’s frightened face was seared into the American psyche by a photo of a gun pointed at him, as he was held in the arms of his uncle. U.S. Marshals finally took him from Miami relatives by force, returning him to his father.

In his first American TV appearance as an adult, his first interview since he was 11, Gonzalez reflected on the statue of Jose Marti holding a child — a child many said was Gonzalez — that was erected near the U.S. interest section in Havana.

“It’s every Cuban child. I think it’s the, I see, the father, protect your son and it’s not only me. It’s every children in Cuba,” he said. “I feel proud because I feel it is a statue that is evidence to everything that happened at that moment. It’s a symbol of loyalty of what happened … it represents a father that is trying to protect his son.”

The report notes that he just got engaged — and ABC News records him taking his first selfie, of him and his bride-to-be. He has to wait until he can get enough Internet access to set up a Facebook page.

It’s a story again shows how fate and history and provide special endings to special stories and that, yes, we are in a new era.

Talk about “must watch TV…”

GO here to read the full report and watch the video.