Malaga and the Costa del Sol celebrate the patron saint of its fishing communities

Malaga city, towns and villages along the Costa del Sol and even some inland municipalities held special festivities and processions on Tuesday 16 July in honour of the Virgen del Carmen, the patron saint of seafarers.

Seaside communities in the province celebrated the day of the Virgen del Carmen (Our Lady of Mount Carmel). As well as the sea, she is also considered the patron saint of the Spanish Navy. From Nerja, the easternmost municipality, to San Luis de Sabinillas, in Manilva, in the western Costa del Sol, processions were held in honour of this universal devotion. The festivities also extended to some inland towns, such as Antequera, where processions took place in the streets on 6 July, Montecorto, in the Ronda mountains, and Cuevas de San Marcos, in the north-eastern region of Malaga province.

The day of the Virgen del Carmen is also celebrated at this time of year in neighbourhoods of Malaga city such as Olías, Virgen de Belén or La Luz, in the Carretera de Cádiz district, which already carried the Virgen del Carmen in procession a few days ago. There were also processions in Campanillas and La Virreina on Tuesday, and in the Colonia de Santa Inés next Saturday.

Up to 98 towns revere the Virgen del Carmen including Marbella and Estepona which named her perpetual mayor nine years ago, and Torremolinos, where she presides over a church in the La Carihuela area, all belonging to the diocese of Malaga.

As on every 16 July, the Virgen del Carmen was the undisputed protagonist of the day on which a new anniversary of the apparition to Saint Simon Stock and the giving of the scapular was celebrated, a devotion which, in Malaga, as every year, is felt in a special way in two neighbouring seaside neighbourhoods, El Palo and Pedregalejo, in the eastern part of the city, where the neighbours, from very early in the morning, were called together for the dawn mass celebrated in the Plaza del Padre Ciganda in El Palo, by the sea, and for the rosary of the dawn, which started from the little chapel in the Callejón de la Virgen, in Pedregalejo.

The procession of the Virgen del Carmen of El Palo started at 5.25pm with temperatures still hovering around 30C, leaving from the parish of Nuestra Señora de las Angustias and heading towards the promenade.

The bugle and drum band of the Brotherhood of the Gypsies opened the procession, while the Zamarrilla music band was behind the throne playing the national anthem. To shouts of "beautiful!" the Virgin was received in the church square, which was packed with people and decorated with the traditional colours of white and brown. Two newly acquired angels, from the Murcian town of Totana, stood at the corners of the front of the throne's pedestal, carved by Rafael Ruiz Liébana three decades ago, which reached the promenade for the next part of the procession on the beach. The sand was crowded with devotees who received the Virgin with applause and compliments.

The Virgen del Carmen of El Palo crossed the archway at the entrance to the beach at 8.55pm with the throne advancing with a gentle sway, while devotees sang and music was played. The bearers of the processional floats were carried up the platform to the applause of thousands of faithfuls, among them mayor Francisco de la Torre.

During the sea procession, in which other boats also participated, there was the traditional meeting between the two Virgen del Carmens of District 2 Malaga East, those of El Palo and Pedregalejo, at the Jaboneros stream. There was a floral offering between the two brotherhoods at 10pm, and then it headed towards the El Candado sports club, where fireworks were set off.

The disembarkation took place on Chanquete beach, followed by the land procession, first with women on the throne, and then with men. On this occasion, the procession did not go to the area of Las Cuevas, as on other occasions, but returned to its temple along Calle Mar and Avenida Juan Sebastián Elcano.

The brotherhood of Pedregalejo started its route at 7pm from the Corpus Christi parish church, with the Malaga-born Terelu Campos, a well-known television presenter, ringing the first bells of the throne, both inside the church and in the street. The Mother of Mount Carmel was taken out in the street with the national anthem playing in the background.

The Virgen del Carmen de Pedregalejo, wearing her embroidered gown, was taken along Ventura de la Vega and, after crossing the Juan Sebastián Elcano Avenue, entered César Riario. From there, she was taken a few metres along Bolivia and through the narrow Varadero street. As every year, once they reached the headquarters of Astilleros Nereo, an emotional ceremony was held. At that moment, the brothers and sisters of the brotherhood, dressed in grey and carrying walking sticks, surrounded the square, while the gold and silver throne of the Virgen del Carmen, by Cristóbal Martos, decorated mainly with white flowers and carried by bearers dressed in grey, advanced to the centre of the square. Malaga mayor Francisco de la Torre and councillor Carlos Conde formed part of the entourage.

After the ceremony, the procession resumed its march along the promenade. The Virgen del Carmen arrived at the mouth of the Los Pilones stream at 8.45pm amidst applause and cheers. At 9.10pm the image was loaded onto a boat, commanded by José Antonio Pinto, after requesting permission to start the maritime procession in the direction of El Palo and to pay tribute to those who died at sea. The boat then changed course and headed for the Baños del Carmen, but before that, at the Nereo Shipyards, fireworks were set off with the Son de Malaga choir performing from the shore.

Back on the beach shortly before 11pm, after the disembarkation, the Virgen del Carmen, wearing a white veil from the end of the 19th century and a mother-of-pearl rosary, was enthroned again to continue the land procession towards the Plaza del Ancla. As soon as they entered Cenacheros Street, the Pastoral de Las Protegidas de Nerja (The Protected Ones of Nerja) sang. This was only the beginning of what was to follow, with fireworks, the passing through a carpet of salt and the throwing of petals. In Calle Pepote the scenes were repeated.

In the province, the Virgen del Carmen also made processions on Tuesday in Estepona, Marbella, Fuengirola and Los Boliches, Mijas, Benalmádena, La Carihuela, La Cala del Moral, Rincón de la Victoria, Benajarafe and Nerja, among other municipalities. On 16 July, according to tradition, the Virgin known as the Queen of Carmel appeared to Saint Simon Stock, superior of the Carmelite order, founded around the 12th century.

In Estepona, for example, the Virgen del Carmen Coronada went out to meet her people in a solemn maritime-land procession. At 7.30pm, devotees gathered at the doors of the chapel to watch her departure and applaud. The route went along Calle San Roque, José Luis Díez, Avenida España (to the Chiringuito Paraíso del Mar), Paseo Marítimo Pedro Manrique, Sonsoles, Avenida España, La Nave, San Roque and back to the chapel.

As it passes along the promenade, crowds of locals and tourists await it on the seashore, and a boat receives the Virgin. The Queen of Mount Carmel continued her procession by sea, followed by boats crowded with people and sailors. Once back on land, she continued her journey until she returned to her temple to await the next 16 July.

Meanwhile, in Marbella, as every year at dawn, its patron saint, the Virgen del Carmen, went out on Tuesday morning to meet her faithful and move to El Cable beach, surrounded by many people for the rosary of the dawn. Once there, the holy mass took place after which came the crucial moment: the blessing of the waters.

In the afternoon, once again, the patron saint took to the streets of Marbella, passing through Plaza de la Iglesia, and the streets Trinidad, Salinas, Arte, Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno, Puente Málaga, Avenida Nabeul, Avenida Severo Ochoa, Antonio Montero Sánchez, Avenida Duque de Ahumada, Avenida Miguel Cano, Avenida Ramón y Cajal, Huerta Chica, Plaza de la Victoria, Estación, Plaza de los Naranjos, General Chinchilla, Carmen, Plaza de la Iglesia and the church.

This is a special year for the Virgen del Carmen of Marbella, as her canonical coronation will be celebrated on 26 October.

In Axarquia, the Queen of the Seas also made a procession among big crowds of people. In Vélez-Málaga there were processions in Benajarafe, Las Melosas de Torre del Mar and Caleta de Vélez. In Nerja she also sailed across the Mediterranean in a boat, from the beach of La Torrecilla to Calahonda.

And in Torremolinos, the procession of the Virgen del Carmen de La Carihuela brought the seaside neighbourhood to a standstill. The Mother of Carmel made her triumphal exit from the parish to which she gives her name, accompanied by the bugle and drum band from Benalmádena, which opened the procession.

Written in collaboration with María Albarral (Estepona and Marbella), Eugenio Cabezas (Axarquía) and José Rodríguez Cámara (Torremolinos).