This coming Tuesday, July 16 is Fiesta of the Virgen del Carmen who is the Patron Saint of fishermen and sailors.
Sabinillas ,Castillo and Estepona all have links with the fish community and therefore this fiesta is very important.
This is a beautiful spectacle to watch. Following masses in the churches of Sabinillas and Castillo, statues of the virgins are taken from the churches and are placed on board the local fishing boats in two separate ceremonies: the first off the beach at Sabinillas and the second in the Port of Duquesa. The two boats bearing the Virgens, along with with a flotilla of other boats (imagine a smaller version of the Jubilee Thames Pageant) then parade up and down the coast from the Salt Tower to Chullera before disembarking and returning to their respective churches.
Here’s the programme for the day.
Programme – Castillo
8.00 am The Manilva Town Band will parade through the streets and no doubt someone will let off a few rockets
6.30 pm – A mass will be held at the parrish church in Castillo after which the procession will proceed to Duquesa where the Virgen will be placed on the chosen boat and then paraded up and down the coast accompanied by the rest of the ‘fleet’.
10 pm – Live music in the square in Castillo until the early hours of the morning.
Programme – Sabinillas
12 noon – A mass will be held in the ‘Fishermen’s Square’ in Sabinillas. Later in the afternoon the effigy of the Virgen will be carried to the beach in Sabinillas where it is placed on a fishing boat.
In the evening there will be entertainment with music and dancing into the early hours of the morning.
Please note that it is an official in Estepona and Castillo so many shops and businesses will be closed on Tuesday and although, not an “official” holiday in Sabinillas, you may find that many business will either not open for the afternoon or will close early.
