Spain has been famous for its somewhat controversial tradition of bullfighting, which is still a big part of the country’s fiesta culture. As a spectator sport, it is still widely popular, with several thousand Spaniards attending each week.
Despite this, in July the parliament of Catalonia voted to ban bullfighting after a petition was brought against it. The petition was signed by 180,000 people who believe this tradition to be barbaric and outdated. In the vote held on July 28, 68 voted in favour of the ban, 55 voted against and nine abstained.
Communities Live reporters Carlota Calderón and Emma Wass interviewed three Spaniards to ask for their opinion regarding this new legislation, which will take effect in January 2012.
Carlota is a Spanish native from the northern city of Pamplona, where San Fermines, the “running of the bulls” festival is held every summer. Emma spent a few months in the same region, Navarra, so has also experienced the fiesta culture first hand.
The interviewees are Hisham Melara from Granada, Andalucía, Oscar Floristán from Navarra, and Nacho Vázquez from Zaragoza.
The report discusses the moral issue regarding bullfighting i.e. animal welfare and the political issues behind the ban which relate to Catalonia’s fight for independence from the rest of Spain.
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