MADRID, Spain (AP) – Harry Potter’s Spanish-speaking fans finally got a taste of the boy wizard’s latest adventures when a Spanish translation hit the bookshelves Thursday in Spain and Latin America.

The Spanish-language edition of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the sixth book in J.K. Rowling’s best-selling series, was released in three slightly different translations – one in Spain, one in Argentina and one elsewhere in Latin America.

In Madrid bookstores, the book known here as “Harry Potter y el Misterio del Principe” went on sale at 12:30 p.m. EST, accompanied by magic shows and other activities such as story-writing contests.

“Harry Potter’s publishing house has waited until the end of the day to create maximum expectation,” said Maria Amor Calleja, manager of Casa del Libro, Madrid’s biggest bookstore. “This doesn’t happen with any other book. There is real Potter-mania in Spain.”

“I’ve been reading Harry Potter books since I was 8, and I have them all,” said Jesus Ponton, 15. “I’ve been waiting for this book since I finished the last one and prefer the books to movies because they give you more.”

The book was translated in Spain by Gemma Rovira, who shut herself off for four months to complete the task.

One of the reasons to change the title was that the Spanish word for “half-blood” – mestizo – has too many different connotations in Spanish-speaking countries.

“I’ve come from Chile for this book,” said Dominique Luan, 19. “I like the books because they blend reality and magic and Harry always retains his air of innocence.”

Rowling’s fantasy series is wildly popular in Spain, where translations of five earlier Harry Potter books have sold millions of copies, only comparable to the novels of Colombian Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Dan Brown’s huge best seller, “The Da Vinci Code,” Calleja said.

She said 1 million copies of the latest Harry Potter book have been distributed to booksellers nationwide and are expected to sell out.

“There’s nothing quite like Harry Potter in publishing. It’s No. 1,” Calleja said. “Apart from that, it is a true sociological phenomenon.”

Millions of readers snapped up “Half-Blood Prince” when it was published in English last July, but fans hoping to read it in other languages had to wait for translations.

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” is considered the darkest, most grown-up work in Rowling’s series – haunted by death, complicated by love and heartbreak, critics say.

Since 1997, when Rowling first introduced Harry and his fellow students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to the world, the books have sold 270 million copies in 62 languages and inspired a series of movies.