Vélez-Málaga Holy Week image restored to former glory following fire
The procession left the town's San Francisco Market amidst applause and cheers in the eastern Costa del Sol town as the image of Our Lady of Rocio emerged for the first time in three years
Eugenio Cabezas
Monday, 30 March 2026, 11:32
The Palm Sunday procession of 'La Pollinica' and the 'Virgen del Rocío' returned to the streets of Vélez-Málaga on the eastern Costa del Sol on 29 March for the first time after fire destroyed much of the religious image during Holy Week in 2023.
The procession left the town's San Francisco Market amidst applause and cheers as the image of Our Lady of Rocio emerged for the first time in three years. Due to the wind, only one candle was lit from the Virgen del Rocío's candelabra.
La Pollinica was carried by more than 140 bearers (horquillero/as), most of whom are women and was accompanied by the Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno de Alcaudete band from Jaen.
But the focus of the day was on the Virgen del El Rocío. The image, created by Juan Ventura in 1980, has returned to the procession under its canopy after the devastating fire of 2023, when a candle fell and severely damaged the structure.
Although it was partly repaired in time for 2024, many processions were cancelled due to heavy rain. The procession did take place in 2025 but it was still not fully repaired. This year La Virgen del Rocio was back to her former glory, complete with the canopy that had not been repaired until this year.
It was carried by 135 bearers as it passed through streets including Calle Las Tiendas and Plaza de las Carmelitas. The procession includes around 170 penitents, as well as women in mantillas accompanying the Virgin, in a scene that returned one of Vélez-Málaga's beloved Holy Week images: La Virgen del Rocío under her canopy.
