On the second Sunday in May Valencia celebrates the festival of the Virgen de los Desamparados, Patroness of the city. There is great devotion to this Virgin whom Valencians affectionately call "La Geperudeta", in allusion to the slightly bent position that she adopts.
In order not to remove the Image of the Virgin of the Forsaken from the High Altar from her dressing room, replicas were made of it. The first processional image of the Virgen de los Desamparados was the work of Carmelo Vicent in 1948. Later in 1966, Octavio Vicent made another one, which is the one that currently goes out in procession and is popularly known as "La Peregrina."
On the eve of the festival, on Saturday night, a concert takes place in the Plaza de la Virgen by the Valencia Municipal Band. Next there is a fireworks display in the old bed of the Turia River. After this takes place the "Dança", a fragment of native popular dance and the "Nit d'Albaes", a night of typical songs from the region. Around five in the morning the "Discovered Mass" is celebrated.
On Sunday at eight in the morning, at an altar that is installed in front of the Basilica of the Virgin and whose façade is decorated with a tapestry of flowers, the Infants' Mass takes place. At 10:30 a.m. the "Transfer" proceeds in which the "Pilgrim" image is carried by the "followers" from the Basilica to the Cathedral through the Puerta de los Hierros. This act is very famous and the Virgin, amid cheers and compliments, is carried in the wings, passing from one to another, until, with her back turned, she enters the Cathedral.
At noon there is a mascletà and In the afternoon, a procession is held in which the Virgin is paraded through the streets of the historic center, which are flooded with thousands of flower petals.
In the Plaza de la Reina, a market is set up on this date. typical of ceramic and clay objects known as "l'escuraeta".
