TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS in BENALMADENA
Benalmadena is known for its full calendar of all-year-round festivities and cultural celebrations, from organized art and sporting events to traditional and religious processions - all of which give life and vitality to this cosmopolitan town.
March/April (Easter Week) - Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is a special time in Benalmadena. Apart from the usual religious processions through the streets Benalmadena Pueblo and Arroyo de la Miel, there is also a live presentation of the Passion of Christ in the old village - Benalmadena Pueblo. Known as 'El Paso' the procession, made up of locals, starts at sunrise on Friday of the 'Virgen de la Soledad'. This is one of the most traditional celebrations to take place in Benalmadena.
June - Corpus Christi is another celebration, which stirs up the people of Benalmadena Pueblo. One of the attractions of this event is the spreading of flower petals and herbs on the streets by the people of village on the eve of the procession. This is a series of flower carpets in stunning designs carefully laid out through the streets of the historic center. More than 70,000 flower stems are incorporated. it is one of our most photographed traditions and attracts visitors from all over. After a Sunday morning Mass the procession leaves the church and marches through the carpets of flowers which become scattered in all directions. From Benalmádena Costa the procession leaves from Santo Domingo de Guzmán Church. the Mass is traditionally at 11:00 hrs and procession afterwards starts about 12:00 hrs. From Benalmádena Pueblo the procession leaves from Virgen del Carmen Church. the Mass is traditionally at 11:00 hrs and procession afterwards starts about 12:00 hrs. From Arroyo de la Miel the procession leaves from Inmaculada Concepción Church. the Mass is traditionally at 18:00 hrs and procession afterwards starts about 19:00 hrs.
June 24th Arroyo de la Miel celebrates from 24th to 29th June with its Summer Fair. As many as 16,000 people attended the last night of the celebrations. This is also a favourite time because it is the start of the warmer nights on the coast. It is a popular fiesta all over Spain with bonfires and fireworks usually starting from midnight on the 23rd.
July 15th - 29th Benalmadena Summer Festival of Music, Theatre & Dance is held in the Auditorium of the Parque de La Paloma in Arroyo de la Miel. M
July 16th sees the evening Virgen del Carmen procession down to the sea. This celebration is known as the 'Veladilla del Carmen' and has become more than simply the procession of the sailor and is now something of a favourite local tradition, with a special mass and then the carrying of the virgin to the sea, where the procession continues by boat. It leaves from Church Square, Avenida Bonanza after a mass at 19:30 and then continues at 20:30 down to Benalmadena Port, where it proceeds by boat. Many people jump in the sea and at 21:30 there is music and dancing till dawn. When the virgin reaches the sea, there is a big fireworks display from the Malapesquera Beach.
Mid-August sees festival of the 'Virgen de la Cruz' (The Virgin of the Cross). This annual festival of great traditional and cultural importance, is celebrated with a procession is through the streets of the Pueblo.
