The province of Málaga celebrates this Saturday the Assumption of the Virgin with processions, pilgrimages, and fairs in more than twenty municipalities. The day coincides with the start of the Málaga Fair in the capital.
The province of Málaga experiences this Saturday one of its most crowded festive days of the summer. More than twenty municipalities celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin, popularly known as the Day of the Virgin, with processions, pilgrimages, and patronal fairs spread across the Málaga geography. The event also coincides with the kickoff of the Málaga Fair, which will last until August 22.
The festivity commemorates a dogma proclaimed by Pope Pius XII in 1950, according to which Mary ascended to heaven in body and soul after her death. The Málaga diocese has five parishes under this invocation: four in the province —Cómpeta, Almogía, Gibralgalia, and Colmenar— and one in the capital, in the Cruz del Humilladero neighbourhood.
Pilgrimages with a unique stamp
The pilgrimages are the main protagonists of the day. In Yunquera, the image known as the Virgin Chiquita is transported to the Porticate area. Casabermeja processes the Virgin of Socorro; Mijas, the Virgin of Remedies, and Los Romanes, a district of La Viñuela, the Miraculous Virgin. Archidona, for its part, does not celebrate a procession but maintains its traditional night pilgrimage to the hermitage of the Virgin of Grace, which starts at 22:00 on the 14th and lasts until dawn.
In the Guadalhorce Valley, a good part of the religious events are concentrated. In Alhaurín el Grande, the Virgin of Grace travels the streets under a canopy. In Pizarra, the Virgin of Fuensanta processes with the ritual of La Rifa, declared a festival of tourist interest in Andalusia, in which anyone can carry the image in exchange for a small contribution.
In Coín, the small statue of the Virgin of Fuensanta travels the streets at dawn in the final stretch of its fair. The festive calendar is completed by the fairs of Benalmádena (Virgin of the Cross), Benahavís (Virgin of the Rosary, with a procession at 21:00), Carratraca (Virgin of Health), Mollina (Virgin of the Olive), Bobadilla (Virgin of Wonders), and Villanueva de la Concepción (the Immaculate).
A festival that connects with the capital
August 15 also marks the start of the Málaga Fair, whose origins date back to 1491, when the Catholic Monarchs established it as a popular festival coinciding with this same religious festivity. During these days, the capital combines the daytime fair in the historic centre with the nighttime fair at the Cortijo de Torres venue, while the Cathedral hosts a solemn mass.
In Almogía, the Assumption joins the feast of the patrons San Roque and San Sebastián, with a triduum starting on the 13th. The main day begins at dawn with the Aurora rosary, continues with a popular breakfast in the square, and culminates with the midday mass and the procession of the patrons.
The following day, Tolox will conclude its fair with the procession of San Roque and its traditional launching of rockets. In Cómpeta, the religious celebration coincides with the Night of Wine, one of the oldest festivals in the province, born under the patronage of the Assumption, the patroness of its parish.
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