Underwater Virgin
The Virgin of Algeciras is more popular than Madonna
SUN WORSHIPPING. Crowds greet the virgin as she arises from her watery home benath the Gibraltar Street
Every parish church in Spain has its gold statue of the virgin but there’s one in Algeciras who plays very hard to get. For 364 days of the year, the Virgen de la Palma lives on the sea bed. But once a year, she’s brought up from her watery grotto and paid homage to on the beach. Some 40,000 bikini-clad worshippers turn up to touch her and be ‘healed’ in scenes reminiscent of Lourdes. As spectacles go, this maritime romeria is one of the rarest and most entertaining in Spain (unless you hate crowds).
📌Playa de Rinconcillo, Algeciras
📆 August 15 every year
🕘 13.00 The virgin arrives on the beach; 17.00 Mass on the beach; 24.00 Fireworks