The story goes that la Virgen del Carmen has always taken care of her devotees. As a token of affection for those who venerated her, on 16 July 1251 she gave a scapular that promised to free anyone who wore it from eternal punishment.
However, what characterises tla Virgen del Carmen and why she is so celebrated in Spain is because she is the patron saint of sailors and therefore of fishermen. This is due to the many occasions in which sailors who have suffered accidents at sea tell how the Virgen del Carmen, their Star of the Sea, helped them to survive.
Nowadays, for many sailors it is indispensable to carry a statuette or an image of the Virgin of Mount Carmel on board with the scapular around their necks, so that she may protect them on their voyage at sea.
Such is the importance of these festivities that, thanks to the procedures carried out by the Torremolinos Town Hall Tourism Office, the Procession of the Virgen del Carmen in La Carihuela was declared a Fiesta of Tourist Interest in Andalusia. Every year more and more people are encouraged to experience Torremolinos and customs like this.