The Feast of Carmen

Last night Carmen had her big day. July 16th, the Feast of the Virgen del Carmen, patron saint of fishermen and sailors. There were friends here at the apartment and we could see the fireworks going off up and down the coast. There are a couple of processions this weekend. Bob Massa and his friend Ellen are visiting and so far seem to be having a fine time. Yesterday I showed them the Cathedral and the church of St. Lazarus, where Rocío is housed. Then we had a nice lunch on the beach out in El Palo. Today we will probably drive out to Nerja and Frigiliana. The name Carmen comes from Mt. Carmel, in present day Israel, where a Marian apparition gave birth to the Carmelite order. The cult to this image came to Spain in the 13th century and over time has grown greatly in popularity.  In Málaga there is a great image of her in the Church of the Holy Martyrs, downtown.