BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) – Fans and opponents of bullfighting crowded into Barcelona yesterday for the last “corrida” to be held in the city’s La Monumental arena following a ban on the traditional Spanish spectacle in Catalonia.
All 20,000 seats in the historic bull ring had sold out weeks in advance for the contest in which Spain’s top matador, Jose Tomas, and two others will put to death six bulls.
Touts were charging 1,600 euros for tickets, three times the face value of the top price seats closest to the sand.
Crowds filled bars outside La Monumental before the 6 pm start, many dressed as if going to a formal dinner party. Fans — a number of whom had come from abroad — lamented the ban, saying it was stifling tradition and stamping on society’s rights. “This is like a dictatorship. We don’t do anything wrong to anyone and we are banned from having a 300 year-old show. And in Barcelona, where there used to be three bullfighting arenas,” Josep Navarro, 60, a longtime fan, told Reuters.
