The church of Nuestra Señora del Carmen de Aguadulce celebrated its first forty years of life a few days ago. Four decades in which this unique building has become one of the most representative figures of the Rock town, thanks to its original design, the work of the architect Antonio Ortiz Gacto.
The Aguadulce parish has a little more time, since it was the Bishop of Almería in 1973, Manuel Casares, who then approved the creation of several parishes, including that of Aguadulce. However, given the growth that this town and the rest of the Roquetero municipality experienced at the time, the small church located on National Highway 340 soon became too small to accommodate the growing number of faithful, and the process to build a new temple began.
It was in 1982 when the new building opened its doors, on land sold at a symbolic price by the Martín Martín family. The church was specifically inaugurated on September 19, 1982 by the Bishop of Almería, Manuel Casares, as well as the Archbishop of Granada, José Méndez. According to the Bishopric, when it was inaugurated there was nothing around the temple, everything was field and the faithful had to cross boulevards and paths to reach this place.
Behind the altar the building has a completely circular crypt. /
The rock historian, Juan Miguel Galdeano, highlights some particularities of this building that corresponds to the time after the Second Vatican Council that introduces new religious airs. “Churches are no longer elongated and pews tend to hug the altar,” a trend that is applied to perfection in Aguadulce as “one of the best examples” of that philosophy that is configured in the form of an auditorium.
And it is that in addition, the temple is conceived to precisely have several uses, with the idea that it could be used as an amphitheater. In fact, the altar can be dismantled and to leave the space free and facilitate the celebration of concerts, offering Aguadulce a space for this type of cultural events that complement its religious role, as has happened in these 40 years.
With a very Mediterranean style, among other things thanks to that white plaster reminiscent of many old houses in the area, the church takes advantage of the sloping orography of Aguadulce and uses catenary arches similar to those used by Gaudí in many of his projects. .
Among his curiosities of the building, Galdeano also highlights the mosaic by Luis Cañadas located around the tabernacle and a crypt with a completely circular shape that is located behind the altar. Without forgetting a stained glass window that imitates the fall of water in different colors, at the bottom of the altar.
Different parish priests have passed through this church, starting with Fernando Berruezo, who occupied the square from its creation until 1990. From 2012 to the present, the parish priest is Antonio Jesús Martín Acuyo, in addition to having Ginés García Sánchez as a member.
The church has experienced important moments in recent years, such as the completion in 2021 of the bell tower designed by the architect Miguel Nieto Morales, and which was made possible thanks to a grant from the Roquetas de Mar City Council. That year Bishop Adolfo González blessed the three bells installed in the new bell tower.
Numerous residents of Aguadulce have passed through its interior throughout these four decades in which it has been, together with the old church that in July has its leading role in the acts in honor of the Virgen del Carmen, the temple of this part of northern Roquetas de Mar. However, it must be remembered that since 2005 it shares parishioners with the parish of the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, projected for the southern area of Aguadulce and which is currently located in the House of Spirituality until a new temple is built near the Playadulce hotel.
The church of the Virgen del Carmen, 40 years being a symbol of Aguadulce