Religious Virgins are hugely popular in Andalucia; they are normally handcrafted from wood and porcelain and spend 99.9 per cent of the year in glass-covered alcoves at the local church. Most are dusted down and placed on flower-decked thrones at Easter-time when they are lovingly and solemnly borne through the streets.
The Virgen del Carmen, however, has her own special day.
On the evening of July 16, in the fishing villages and towns up and down the Coast, her much-loved effigy is not only paraded through the streets but also taken for a spin round the bay on a flower-adorned boat, accompanied by a flotilla of "jábegas" (fishing boats).
The Virgen del Carmen arrives at the port of Motril to board and into the sea
The fishing boats that participate are then blessed for the coming fishing year before returning to port.
When they arrive at the port, the Virgen is carefully carried off the boat, and on to a waiting flower-adorned platform to be carried through the streets by fishermen.
Brass bands play, crowds cheer, rockets shoot off and fireworks fill the late dusk sky.
Celebrations vary slightly from town to town. In Málaga, for example, the procession takes place not only on July 16, but on the following Sunday. A recent Malagueñan tradition, started in 1981, shows the Virgen del Carmen embracing all lovers of the sea - including scuba divers. That year, the City scuba diving club placed an image of their patron at the bottom of the sea and since then divers have paid their underwater homage annually.
To understand why the Virgen del Carmen should be held so dear to the inhabitants of towns and villages such as Motril, Torreneuva, Castell de Faro, Salobreña, Almuñecar and all along the Spanish coast, we need to go back to the Old Testament.
Downshifting in his old age, the prophet Elias retreated to a cave in Mount Carmelo near Haifa, Israel.
Many centuries later, hermits following in Elijah's footsteps asked for the protection of the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmelo - the Virgin of Carmen. Stella Maris, as she was also known, was soon adopted by mariners and fishermen everywhere as their patron.
Although long overtaken by tourism, many Costa towns still retain fishing communities and a strong attachment to "la Reina de los Mares" (the Queen of the Seas).
It was once believed, perhaps in the days before water-purifying plants, that the Virgin cleared up the waters with her presence and that only after July 16 would the sea be fit for swimming in.
Whether it is peculiar to Motril or whether it is more widely practised, the boats following the Virgin in the Motril tableau all throw up red distress signals for ages after dark and one thing is for sure, any souls and their boats getting into trouble in Motril waters will definitely need to call on the Virgin of the Carmen for help as their plight will most certainly go unnoticed by anyone else.
