Barcelona says goodbye to the bullfight

On September 25, 2011 the last Catalonian bullfight will be held in Barcelona. From January 1, 2012 in this region of Spain comes into force the official ban on bullfighting.

The last corrida in Barcelona will be held at the La Monumental stadium. Today it is the only arena for bullfighting in Catalonia, where are still held bullfights. On next Sunday at La Monumental is expected a sold-out. About 20 000 people will come to watch the last bullfight. The cost of the ticket ranges from 22 to 135 Euros.

Such famous matadors of the region as Juan Mora, José Tomás and Serafin Marin will take part in the last bullfight.

The famous Spanish artist Miguel Barcelo created a billboard especially for the corrida in Barcelona. To create the poster the artist invited one of the best matadors - Jose Tomas. From September 19, 2011 these posters can be seen all over Barcelona.

Anyway, despite the fact that the bullfighting was banned at the national referendum by the majority of Spaniards, a number bullfight fans in Catalonia expect to return it in the next season. Some Catalans consider the bullfight an art, opposing animal defenders, who define this type of entertainment as barbaric treatment of animals.

Currently in Catalonia people are collecting signatures in support of the bill that would make bullfight the national cultural heritage. Collection of signatures was initiated by the Catalonian Bullfighting Federation. After the signature collection representatives of the federation will send a petition to the Spanish parliament.

Spanish corrida has its origins in the Ancient Rome. Being a province of the empire Spain welcomed Roman entertainment, most of which were certainly fights with gladiators and wild beasts. Subsequently the bloody spectacle was transformed into a bullfight. And if in Spain the tradition to kill bulls still exists, in the nearby Portugal bullfight is a kind of theater, where the animal is left alive.

According to Reuters, interest in bullfighting in Spain has rapidly been decreasing for several years. The number of bullfights in the country from 2007 to 2010 decreased by 34%.

Catalonia will be the second region of Spain, which intends to ban bullfighting. In 1991 for the first time bullfights were abolished on the Canary Islands. But the bullfights are held in many cities of Andalusia. In Andalusia there are 70 arenas for bullfights. Here is located the oldest bullfighting arena in Ronda. The main bullfighting city in Andalusia is Seville.