Easter Week in San Roque

Easter Week in San Roque was declared a "Festival of National Tourist Interest in Andalusia" in the year 2000. It involves the procession of statues from the 15th to 18th centuries that Spaniards brought with them when they fled Gibraltar after it was invaded by the English. They settled at a shrine, intending to return, but over time they founded the town of San Roque.

In San Roque all the brotherhoods leave their churches to gather at the Church of Santa María la Coronada, from where the Great Procession of San Roque begins with its fourteen statues every Good Friday. This event is considered one of the greatest tourist attractions in the town.

The procession of Maundy Thursday is also symbolic in San Roque. This sees the Virgen de los Dolores and Jesús Nazareno take different journeys before meeting again in the Plaza de Andalucía around eleven o'clock at night, while from a balcony a priest narrates the passage and holy meeting of Jesus and his mother.