Answer: Elya did not intend to break his promise to Madame Zeroni.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the story ( Holes), it is discovered that Elya Yelnats was just a man who made an error and not the bad man he was made out to be.
You see Elya Yelnats had made a deal with Madame Zeroni to get him to marry the beautiful Myra Menke against her advice for she considered Myra to be dull. The deal was that he would carry her up a stream and sing to her or else he and his entire generations will be cursed.
On the day he was to propose marriage to Myra however, he realised that indeed she was dull and this depressed him. In his disillusioned state, he forgot his deal with Madame Zeroni and went to America.
This shows that he did not intend to break the promise but rather forgot about it.