Holy Week image destroyed by fire on Costa del Sol takes to the streets again

Vélez-Málaga's Our Lady of Rocío caught fire during the processions in 2023 when a candle fell onto her mantle

Eugenio Cabezas

Vélez-Málaga

Monday, 14 April 2025, 12:51

The image of Our Lady of Rocío formed part of the Palm Sunday processions in Vélez-Málaga on the eastern Costa del Sol again having being restored after a fateful fire destroyed much of the image in 2023.

The fire started when a candle fell onto the image's mantle during that year's Holy Week processions. Last year, although the image had been painstakingly restored, it was the rain that prevented the procession from going ahead. However, this year, as the threat of rain diminished, a few minutes after 5pm the image left the San Francisco market to the emotional cheers of the devotees who had witnessed the tragic fire of two years ago.

The image was carried without a canopy, as the brotherhood has not yet been able to acquire a new one to replace the one that was damaged. The Unicaja Foundation has contributed 100,000 euros to replace the damaged items, while the town hall and the provincial authority, the Diputación de Málaga, have each contributed 50,000 euros and 150,000 euros, respectively.

The procession was once again accompanied by young Vélez-Málaga singer Adrián Martín and Juan Ventura, the sculptor from Seville who carried out the work to restore the image.

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