But the quashing of autonomous Catalan institutions that had existed for many centuries provided some powerful fuel for Catalan nationalism over the next 300 years.
Catalan nationalists eager to push the idea that bullfighting is a Spanish cultural imposition that offends Catalan sensibilities, turned the debate into an issue of national identity.
BBC: Bullfighting in Catalonia: The death of Barcelona��s ring
Also officially acceptable is "Le Pays Catalan", the Catalan Country.
Madrid (CNN) -- The heated debate over potential Catalan independence from Spain took a new turn Wednesday when the Catalan regional parliament approved a declaration alluding to sovereign rights.
CNN: Catalan parliament declaration pushes self-determination
As part of a new law to promote Catalan instead of Castilian Spanish, Mr Pujol has been trying to make cinemas show at least a quarter of their films in Catalan.
His enthusiastic immersion as a boy in Catalan culture speaking, reading and writing a language that was officially banished under Franco to the hearth and home, wandering in the rugged, piny Catalan landscape reached its natural apogee in preserving, lovingly, what Catalunya tasted like.
Spain's new constitution of 1978, three years after Franco's death, divided Franco's centralised country into 17 regions, granted privileges to those parts (the Basque country, Catalonia and Galicia) with historic identities of their own, made Castilian pre-eminent as Spain's official language, but gave other languages principally Catalan, Basque, Valencian (a dialect of Catalan) and Galician equal status in areas where they were spoken.
Castells have been a fixture of Catalan summer festivals for more than 200 years.
Derived from French and old Catalan, this word nearly bounced champion Arvind Mahankali from the finals.
The Catalan Republican Left doubled its bloc, as it held just 10 seats before the election.
CNN: Ruling party in Catalonia region loses seats in parliament
To improve their chances, they are following their Catalan peers in embracing cultural nationalism.
However, other polls on the question of an independent Catalan state are much less convincing.
The MotoGP World Championship now moves to Barcelona for next week's Catalan Grand Prix.
But now he does not need Catalan votes, and the relevant ministers have been backtracking.
Gale ran in two tries inside the first six minutes to stun new-look Catalan.
After the restoration of democracy and of regional autonomy the Catalan government introduced bilingual education.
The centre-right opposition People's Party, which challenged the Catalan charter in court, has long felt so.
ECONOMIST: The constitutional court limits Catalonia��s powers
In 2006 a Catalan referendum backed by the central government gave the region greater autonomy.
With the EU watching, this Catalan constitutional impasse could yet make itself felt in Scotland too.
Soon after, the ruling Catalan nationalist president, Artur Mas, called snap regional elections, two years early.
CNN: Catalan parliament declaration pushes self-determination
Some local writers have issued a manifesto in Catalan saying that neither language should have supremacy.
The Catalan law of 1983 seemed to keep most speakers of both tongues happy.
He lost his outright majority, at the regional level, in the last Catalan election.
Artur Mas, head of the Catalan government, has announced a snap regional election on November 25.
The Catalan government blames the Spanish central government for not passing them the necessary funds.
Imagine them winning the title in the Camp Nou - it's a nightmare for every Catalan.
The mantra of pro-independence Catalan nationalist politicians is that their region gets a raw deal from Madrid.
In the 20th Century alone, the Spanish government has restored Catalan autonomy thrice and abolished it twice.
The Catalan language has revived and Barcelona has become one of the most fashionable cities in Europe.
Hearts have never played the Catalan giants and have never beaten a team from Spain in European competition.
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