Spanish bullfighter Jose Tomas performs during a bullfight at the Valladolid bullring, in Spain, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011.
MADRID -- Some of Spain's top matadors are gathering for a final weekend of bullfighting before the blood sport is banned in the northeast Catalonia region.
Top flight 'toreros' are on the bill both Saturday and Sunday at the La Monumental arena in the city of Barcelona. They include Jose Tomas, one of the country's most popular bullfighters.
The ban on the sport takes effect Jan. 1, but this is the last event of the 2011 season in the Catalan capital.
The conservative, pro-bullfighting newspaper El Mundo ran an analysis by an economist lamenting among other things how much money the city will miss by banning bullfighting.
It published another piece that read like an obituary, with vignettes on matadors who made their names in Catalonia and others -- four in La Monumental -- who died in the ring.
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