Fiesta
Virgen del Carmen
The patron of fishermen is carried out of the church and into the sea, in every coastal town on the same evening.
- Dates
- 16 July, every year
On the evening of 16 July, the Virgen del Carmen is carried from the church down to the water on the shoulders of local fishermen, taken into the sea, and put out on a decorated boat for a procession along the coast. Then fireworks.
It happens the same night in every fishing town on both the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts — Málaga’s El Palo and Pedregalejo, Fuengirola, Nerja, Estepona, Marbella, and along Cádiz and Almería. The small towns do it better than the big ones.
Free, no booking, and one of the more genuinely moving things to see on the coast. See the Málaga province guide.