OUR LADY OF THE FORSAKEN
The second Sunday in May sees the festival of Our Lady of the Forsaken, another
patron saint of the city. The Valencian people feel great devotion to this virgin, who
they affectionately call "La Geperudeta", an allusion to the slightly stooped position
of her iconic image.
On the eve of the festival there is a concert in the Plaza de la Virgen with the
Valencia Municipal Band, followed by a firework display in the Turia riverbed park,
La Dança, based on traditional folkloric dances and La nit d`Albeas with typical folk
songs from the region. At around 5am, La Misa Descuberta an open-air mass is held.
At 8am, there is a children's mass Misa de Infantes and at 10.30am El Traslado(the
transfer), in which La Peregina is carried by her followers to the basilica of the
Cathedral through La Puerta de los Hierros (the iron doors). At 2pm, there is a
mascleta, and in the afternoon there is a procession in which the virgin is brought
out into the old town and thousands of petals are scattered in the streets.

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