Culture: The magic of Harry Potter arrives in Havana with witchy prices

Havana/For a few hours this Sunday, spells, flying brooms and magician’s capes took over a corner of Old Havana. At the Museum of Mural Painting, children attended the fourth Harry Potter convention in costume, where they enthusiastically participated in games to score points for their respective Hogwarts houses. Movie melodies played through the loudspeakers and references to the universe created by the British writer JK Rowling appeared between the colonial columns. The fun was free, but taking home a souvenir could cost a small fortune.

A magic wand was sold for 3,000 pesos, almost the equivalent of the Cuban monthly minimum wage, set at 3,210. The small handicraft witches reached 3,500 pesos and the books related to the saga ranged between 10,000 and 12,000. A copy of this last price represents almost four minimum wages, an amount that is difficult to justify in the budget of any family that depends exclusively on state income.

Admission to the event, which began at eleven in the morning, was free. Children, many of them dressed in capes, ties and uniforms inspired by movie characters, could participate in organized activities without having to spend money. Between contests, games and photographs, the little ones seemed to be enjoying an unusual day in a city where recreational options for families are often limited by the economic crisis.

One of the busiest places was Diagon Alley, Havana’s version of the famous shopping street from the world of Harry Potter. A sign identified the space, where vendors had displayed a variety of fantasy-related items. There were wands, books, necklaces, bracelets, collectible figures, knitted dolls and other craft objects.

The trade, however, was not limited to Hogwarts: the stalls also offered dolls of characters from Japanese manga and anime, cards from Yu-Gi-Oh! and merchandise from other franchises. Along with wands, books and small craft witches, merchants even sold ships of Star Wars. They also offered to copy the Harry Potter films and their video games for computers, a common practice in Cuba, where the informal reproduction and distribution of audiovisual content and computer programs, without paying royalties, has spread for decades. These activities were carried out openly in the museum, without this newspaper observing any impediments from the authorities.

Prices varied depending on the item and experience. For 100 pesos, for example, attendees could wear a hat or headband from Ravenclaw, one of the four houses of Hogwarts, and pose for a photograph. Of course, the portrait had to be taken with their own mobile phone. The rate corresponded only to the momentary use of the accessories.

The environment was carefully prepared. A wanted poster for Sirius Black, references to the famous Platform 9¾, and a ghostly-looking figure suspended from the ceiling helped transform the museum’s galleries into a kind of magic school. The soundtracks of the films completed the illusion, while attendees walked through the stalls, participated in games or posed for photographs.

The chosen place provided a good part of the charm. The Museum of Mural Painting occupies one of the oldest houses in Havana, linked to Antón Recio, an important resident of the town in the 16th century. Its walls preserve testimonies from different periods of decorative painting and its patios and galleries allow glimpses of colonial architecture. The institution, inaugurated as a museum in 2006, is dedicated to the conservation and dissemination of this heritage.

The intention of the organizers was precisely to take advantage of this scenario to mix the fiction of Harry Potter with Cuban history and legends. Joel Arturo Salazar, known among fans as SteamLord and responsible for the convention since its first edition, had announced participatory games, knowledge contests, thematic classes and exhibitions. The program also includes a pet adoption fair and a display of native animals linked to myths of the Island, although this newspaper did not observe anything related to that activity during the visit.

The meeting, supported by the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, shows that the passion for the saga retains followers of different generations in Cuba. The initiative also reaches a heritage space that in recent months has developed new management and cultural programming formulas through an agreement with an independent team of restorers and artists.

The love for Harry Potter is not new in the capital either. In October 2024, the second edition of this convention was held in the Vitrina de Valonia, another cultural space in Old Havana. The meetings have brought together fans of the novels and movies, but also small entrepreneurs who sell crafts, accessories and collectibles.

This Sunday, between the centuries-old walls of the museum, the little ones seemed oblivious to the economic concerns of the adults. They had come to have fun, to represent their Hogwarts houses and to enjoy a shared fantasy. A book could cost about four salaries, but earning points for Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw was still free. And for a few hours, at least, no spell was necessary to make them smile.