Local Fairs & Festivals

On the otherhand, for those who wish to enjoy Torremolinos in its purest essence, there is the opportunity to participate in the local customs and festivals of the townspeople, throughout the year.

The ChampionshipBallroom Dance Contest, The Carnival, the "verdiales" festival (folk dancing), Holy Week, Crosses of May, Saint John's Eve, and Corpus Christi are some of the most important celebrations, not forgetting the Fair "del Carmen" (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel), the Day of the Tourist, and the "Romería", a picnic style event, celebrated the las week in September as a prologue to the festivities of the Fair of the Patron Saint Michael, September 29th.

This fair attracts more and more tourists from all over the world with each passing year, gathering in the town's centre during the day and continuing into the evening at the Fairgrounds, recently improved and endowed with unsurpassable infrastructure.

The festivals in honour of the patron saint include "La Romería de San Miguel" where more than 200.000 persons gather in the pinewoods "Los Manantiales" in a festive procession to the "Ermita" (shrine) after leaving behind a splendorous trail of joy and amusement through the town streets.
Joined by numerous carts, many of them drawn by oxen and beautifully decorated with floral motifs, they file past a Jury that judges the best decorated.

Another very popular festivity takes place on July 16th, when the fishing village of La Carihuela, pays tribute to its patroness, "La Virgen del Carmen". The virgin's image is placed onboard a fishing boat and escorted by numerous craft in a nautical procession.