Bullfighting was once so popular in Catalonia that the region's capital, Barcelona, was the only city in Spain to boast three active bullrings. Today, the age-old tradition is so controversial that the Catalan government has banned it. One Barcelona bullring, however, continues to attract crowds, having been reimagined as a thriving new retail and entertainment complex. On september 25, 2011, 20,000 spectators packed the arena La Monumental, in Barcelona, Spain, to watch three matadors provoke dangerous beasts in the primal spec-tacle known as bullfighting. Demonstrators opposed to the bloody ritual gathered outside the ring, but their point was largely moot. Since a ban had already been enacted, this would be the last bullfight in Barcelona. As it turns out, the art of bullfighting has been in decline for some time. Attendance has been decreasing in recent years, in part perhaps because of Spain's economic woes and concerns over animal rights.
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