Why will Málaga’s famous shopping street Calle Larios be covered with a huge decorative carpet of salt in the coming weeks?

The famous Calle Larios in Malaga will be covered with salt on Saturday 13 July for the extraordinary procession of the Virgin of Peace. The Brotherhood of the Holy Communion is in the final preparations for this special day, which marks the centenary of its foundation.

There will be several points of interest along the planned route between the Cofradía del Rocío, where the procession will depart with the figure of Luis Álvarez Duarte on his Easter throne, and the headquarters of the Brotherhood on Calle Compañía. Some streets will be decorated, including Calle Larios, where a large carpet of salt will be laid out. This will cover the section between Calle Strachan and Plaza de la Constitución.

On the white layer of salt, various motifs are applied using different coloured salt, many of them red, which symbolises the blood of Christ. Some are also blue, to represent the Virgin Mary, as well as ochre and gold.

The creation of the salt carpet is a donation from the Brotherhood of the Holy Communion together with the young brotherhoods of Malaga to the Virgin of Peace, “in prayer for the end of wars in the world and in solidarity and support for the children and young people who suffer,” said the elder brother of the Brotherhood of Holy Thursday, Rafael López Taza. “The volunteers who will work on the carpet are the boys and girls who are part of the youth groups of the different brotherhoods of Malaga. All of them will contribute their grain of salt to this cause,” he added.

The design of the “carpet”, inspired by Marian ornamental motifs, is the work of David Calleja, fourth deputy mayor and councillor of the town hall of El Puerto de Santa María, who is responsible for the design of the work that is laid out every year in this town in Cadiz in honour of its patron saint (Virgen de los Milagros).

“In an act of generosity, the Chalupa company from El Puerto de Santa María will donate salt from the Salinas Santa María. Around 6,000 kilos of salt will be used to make the carpet,” said López Taza, pointing out the work of Vicente Rodríguez, a creative and versatile artist specializing in decorations and set design, and the director of the festival service, José Luis Sara, both from El Puerto de Santa María.

Access for emergency vehicles

Work on the salt carpet on Calle Larios will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday 13 July and will last until approximately 12:30 p.m. The carpet will be 115 metres long and 2.5 metres wide to allow access for emergency vehicles and the surrounding streets. A path will be created around the carpet. “This salt carpet has never been seen before in this size on Calle Larios or in any other street in our city,” added López Taza.

The passage of the procession through this area on Sunday, July 14, at around 12:15 am, will be very special, as the throne of the Virgin Mary will be shaken and will not be lowered from the beginning of the carpet to the end.

López Taza is asking for help to carry out the salt project. “We need all the help we can get and, of course, the help of the Malaga City Council is essential. At the moment we have the support of the Department of Festivities and the District Council No. 1 to coordinate and facilitate the work. And we can also count on the collaboration of the AC Malaga Palacio hotel at the moment,” he said.

Transfer of the Virgin

Although the procession of the Virgin of Peace takes place on Saturday, July 13, the brotherhood has announced the procedure for the transfer of the Virgin from the parish church of Santo Domingo to La Victoria, where she will be on display until Thursday, July 11. On that day, the brothers will take their patron saint to the brotherhood house of the Cofradía del Rocío at 9 p.m. From here, in the Plaza Párroco Ruiz forest, the procession will begin on Saturday evening at 7 p.m.

A week earlier, on Sunday 7 July, the processional transfer of the Virgin Mary takes place. After entering the Plaza Fray Alonso de Santo Tomás, in the heart of the Perchel neighbourhood, the procession continues through Pasillo de Santo Domingo, Pasillo de Guimbarda, Puente de la Aurora, Avenida de la Rosaleda, Postigo de Arance and Carretería (10 a.m.), Álamos, Cárcer, Plaza Jerónimo Cuervo (11 a.m.), Ramos Marín, Pasaje del Escultor Pérez Hidalgo, Cobertizo del Conde, Lagunillas (11 a.m.), Plaza de la Victoria (11.30 a.m.), Victoria (12 p.m.), Compás de la Victoria, San Patricio, Fernando the Catholic, Plazuela del Cristo del Amor and the Sanctuary of La Victoria (12.45 p.m.).