(Washington's efforts to isolate Cuba from the world through its blockade has failed. Despite everything, Cubans do participate in a wide range of international cultural and entertainment options from around the world and from the United States itself. With far fewer television options - only four channels as of now - Cubans read a lot more than their counterparts in the United States, too.

(Having never read the books or seen any of the movies, I cannot comment on them, though I have observed with interest the discussion of how the Potter phenomenon has encouraged children to read more widely. Cuban children enjoy movies and Harry Potter has been shown on Cuban television where movies from the US, some great ones and some trashy ones, have long been a staple there.

http://www.cubavision.cubaweb.cu/detalles.asp?ID=20143

(Parents and other adults who wish their kids would read more have been encouraged by how children have responded to Harry Potter. This was published in the newspaper of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party two years ago describing the reaction to that year's publication of an earlier Potter book.)
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Harry Potter and the Order of Fenix
http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2003/06/24/cultura/articulo10.html 

Pottermannia is back
By: René Castaño (Student of Journalism)

A minute after midnight of Friday, June 20, the most amazing market spectacle of the editorial world is the sale of "Harry Potter and the Order of Fenix" the fifth book of the saga of the child magician that has amassed a fortune for its author, Joanne K. Rowling greater than that of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

This volume, following the previous successes relates the adventures of Harry and his school friends of the Witches of Poudlard and his combat against the evil Lord Voldemort. According to Rowling, the magician apprentice is now 15, an adolescent, a time of confusion and where he is hit by love for the first time.

The book went on sale with a first edition of 13 million in Great Britain, the United States and other English speaking countries. The Spanish market will have to wait until 2004 when the Spanish translation will be out.

In London, thousands of persons queued up at night in front of bookstores, some organized parties with acts of mysterious magicians and broom carrying witches to entertain the public while on the other side of the Atlantic, in New York, a huge countdown was displayed on Times Square with enormous screens announcing the take off of the long awaited new invention of Lady Rowling.

The book broke all sales records since appearing on the market and was also well received by the critics. One million copies were sold in Great Britain during the weekend and in the United States, that same Saturday, would-be readers overtook that number fivefold. Some experts equate this smashing success of the novel to the tiredness of consumers over a deficient entertainment based on violence and sex.

This phenomenon has become known as Pottermania, a new fever that will last some time since 37-year-old J.K. Rowling has promised to write two more novels about her literary offspring.

Amazon, one of the leading internet book store considers that this last issue is the most successful it can recall. Even before going on sale it had broken records of books supplied by the company with a million requests in the world.

Pottermania has no limits. Recently a truck with 8 000 copies of the new book disappeared in an industrial park near Manchester that, according to the experts, represented an incalculable profit on the black market. The English police are still looking for those responsible for the heist.

For their part, the British Royal Mail has used vans to distribute the new 768-page book that weighs a kilo to protect the backs of the mailmen.

A few days ago, the New York Daily News paper published some fragments informing the followers about the death of one of the protagonists. To prevent a blood letting, they added that they were not the two best friends of Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione. For breaking the silence surrounding the book, the New York paper is facing a demand by the author of 100 million dollars.

British fans are walking around concerned after listening to declarations by J. K. Rowling. In a television interview she was asked it she wouldn't be interested in following Harry to adulthood. The writer caused doubt by answering: How do you know that he will still be alive by then?

The four previous novels of the boy magician, (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone; Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets; Harry Potter and golblet of fire; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) sold more than 200 million copies and was translated into 55 languages from 200 countries. The first two were already put on film with a box office success of 180 million dollars.

Dinner is served. The children of the first world will have their days of illusions and adventures, dreams they will have of being the child magician to bestow justice while many of the children of the rest of the world await the appearance of Harry and his tricks because they also dream of a better world.