Thursday, June 25, 2009

Free Giveaway: New Harry Potter movie tix



Giveaway for Puerto Rico Sun readers on a first-come first-served basis for the new "HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE" movie. Puerto Rico Sun got a few giveaway tickets, courtesy of Harry Potter (OK, not really Harry Potter, but the folks promoting the film).

Winners will receive free tickets for a 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 13 screening at a Manhattan theater and/or a T-Shirt for a boy, girl and a man (sorry I was not offered a woman's T-Shirt).

Here's the official film site www.harrypotter.com for more information about this upcoming summer movie.

To enter this giveaway, please e-mail clarisel (at) puertoricosun.com your name and mailing address and the Harry Potter folks will send you your prize. I'll give you a heads up if you are a winner, so you can pay extra attention to your mail.

The screening is only for the Manhattan theater. Please apply only if you can make this NYC screening. Thanks and good luck.

Here's the movie's synopsis:
Emboldened by the return of Lord Voldemort, the Death Eaters are wreaking havoc in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that new dangers may lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. He needs Harry to help him uncover a vital key to unlocking Voldemort’s defenses—critical information known only to Hogwarts’ former Potions Professor, Horace Slughorn. With that in mind, Dumbledore manipulates his old colleague into returning to his previous post with promises of more money, a bigger office…and the chance to teach the famous Harry Potter.
Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry’s long friendship with Ginny Weasley is growing into something deeper, but standing in the way is Ginny’s boyfriend, Dean Thomas, not to mention her big brother Ron. But Ron’s got romantic entanglements of his own to worry about, with Lavender Brown lavishing her affections on him, leaving Hermione simmering with jealousy yet determined not to show her feelings. And then a box of love potion-laced chocolates ends up in the wrong hands and changes everything.
As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof with far more important matters at hand. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.
David Yates, who directed the 2007 summer blockbuster “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” returned to direct “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” David Heyman, the producer of all of the Harry Potter films, produced the film, together with David Barron. Screenwriter Steve Kloves, who scripted the first four installments of the film franchise, adapted the screenplay based on the book by J.K. Rowling. Lionel Wigram served as executive producer, with John Trehy co-producing.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Heyday Films production, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the sixth installment of Warner Bros. Pictures’ Harry Potter film franchise based on the beloved novels by J.K. Rowling. Once again heading the cast, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson reprise their roles as young wizards Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who are facing new challenges and dangers following Lord Voldemort’s return.
Other returning Harry Potter cast members include: Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange; Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid; Warwick Davis as Professor Filius Flitwick; Michael Gambon as Professor Albus Dumbledore; Alan Rickman as Professor Severus Snape; Maggie Smith as Professor Minerva McGonagall; and Julie Walters as Molly Weasley.
A number of young stars also reprise their roles as Hogwarts students, including Tom Felton as Harry’s longtime nemesis, Draco Malfoy; Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood; and Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley, the youngest of the Weasley clan.
Two award-winning actors join the cast in their first Harry Potter film. Academy Award® winner Jim Broadbent (“Iris,” “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”) plays Potions Professor Horace Slughorn. BAFTA Award winner Helen McCrory (“Streetlife,” “The Queen”) appears as Narcissa Malfoy, mother to Draco Malfoy and sister to the evil Bellatrix Lestrange. Additionally, several young newcomers are making their feature film debuts in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”: Jessie Cave plays the role of Lavender Brown, who only has eyes for Ron Weasley; Hero Fiennes Tiffin is seen in the role of Tom Riddle at age 11; and Frank Dillane plays the 16-year-old Riddle, who is already on the path to becoming the evil Lord Voldemort.
Collaborating with David Yates behind the camera, two-time Oscar®-nominated director of photography Bruno Delbonnel (“A Very Long Engagement,” “Amelie”) on his first Harry Potter film. The behind-the-scenes team also reunites such Harry Potter veterans as production designer Stuart Craig, editor Mark Day, composer Nicholas Hooper, visual effects supervisor Tim Burke, and costume designer Jany Temime.
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” is being distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

If you are not a lucky winner, see HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE anyway in theatres everywhere on Wednesday, July 15.

UPDATE: There are no more movie ticket giveaways available.







Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Fiesta de San Juan Bautista at Battery Park


Community calendar

Celebrate the 57th year of the Fiesta de San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist Festival)
1-6:30 p.m. Sunday
Free
Battery Park in Manhattan
This year's "La Medalla" will go to Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete, an author, theologian and contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine. He is former president of La Universidad Pontifica de Puerto Rico. He is the author of "God at the Ritz: Attraction to Infinity."
The event kicks off with a Spanish Mass celebrated by Father Eric P. Cruz, pastor of the Christ the King Church, the Bronx.
The program also includes entertainment. Jose Alberto (El Canario) y su Orquesta, Wayne Gorbea's Salsa Picante and El Trio Los Platinos.
There will also be artisan kiosks and typical foods on sale.
This marks the 57th anniversary of the Comite de la Fiesta de San Juan Bautista, an nonprofit organization. This committee is the longest serving Hispanic ministry in the Archdiocese of New York.
The Committee also has other programs, including la Gran Fiesta Anual y la Fiesta de las Octavitas.
To help support the work of the Committee, you are welcome to make a $10 donation and mail to Comite Fiesta de San Juan Bautista, Hispanic Affairs, Archdiocese of New York, 1011 First Avenue, Suite 1753, NY, NY  10022. Your name would be included in the committee's future programs with your donation.

(photo by Clarisel Gonzalez of St. John the Baptist at the Cathedral in Old San Juan, P.R.)

Happy St. John the Baptist!

Spirit of East Harlem Mural Defaced



East Harlem Preservation Calls for Community Action and Cultural Educational Campaign

During the early hours of June 13, one of El Barrio's s most famous outdoor artworks, the Spirit of East Harlem mural, was mysteriously defaced. The landmark painting has significant historical roots in the history of Spanish Harlem and has served as a cultural attraction for thousands of students and tourists from around the country and the world.  Commissioned by Hope Community, Inc. in 1978, the four-story Spirit of East Harlem mural was created by Hank Prussing and featured local residents engaging in everyday activities. Artist Manny Vega, who'd served as Prussing's apprentice, restored the badly weathered mural in the mid-1990s. On June 24 , the main wall of the Graffiti Wall of Fame was also painted over; although the alteration may have been in preparation for a new project. Located on the northwest corner of 106th Street and Park Avenue, the Graffiti Wall of Fame was the first legal and organized wall for graffiti writers to showcase their skills. Created during the early 1980s, the "Wall" has become a formidable means of artistic expression for a group of artists led by the Tats Cru. Manny Vega's internationally acclaimed Julia de Burgos mosaic on East 106th Street does not appear to have been defaced, nor have any works by artist James de la Vega. East Harlem Preservation has reached out to elected officials and other neighborhood agencies to address the matter and hopes to engage in public forums to highlight the importance of preserving local artwork. Stay tuned for further updates. For more information, www.eastharlempreservation.org.
Photos and text courtesy of Marina Ortiz of East Harlem Preservation