by Justin | Jul 13, 2023 | On the Costa del Sol, What's On
The ‘Virgen del Carmen‘ celebrations take place in Benalmadena Marina this weekend (from Friday).
The Benalmadena town hall has prepared various events which will take place on Friday 14th, Saturday 15th, and Sunday 16th July, including a wonderful procession through the streets of Benalmádena Costa in which the fishermen will carry their ‘Stella Maris’ to the Marina. Here she’ll be lifted aboard a boat and paraded along the Benalmadena coastline (weather permitting).
If you’ve got some good binoculars, a great place to watch this is from the terrace in our Panorama Bar here at Sunset Beach Club or from the promenade just in front of the hotel. (more…)
by Justin | Jul 13, 2011 | Holiday Tips, On the Costa del Sol, Things To Do, What's On
For those of you who enjoy taking in a little Spanish culture during your holidays, I highly recommend you take a couple of hours this Saturday (16th July) to go and see one of the many “Virgen del Carmen” processions taking place along the Coast.
Last year I went along to the Virgen del Carmen procession in Los Boliches – just a 15 minute drive from the hotel – and thoroughly enjoyed the experience (follow the link to the blog post I wrote).
I won’t provide a long winded explanation of what this day represents – you can see this post about the Virgen del Carmen celebrations for that – but I will quickly explain a little about the reason for this colourful and emotional event.
The Virgen del Carmen, or Stella Maris, as she is often referred to is the patron saint of fishermen and of the Spanish Navy! If you visit one of the processions which take place in most of the “traditional” fishing villages along the Coast – Los Boliches, Benalmádena,La Carrihuelain Torremolinos, Marbella and Estepona, to name but a few – you will witness the pure devotion the local villagers towards their patron saint.
The processions usually start off in the afternoon as the fishermen carry their “Virgen” – which is usually handcrafted in wood and porcelain (more…)
