The procession, unusual for a Saturday morning, marked the return of the Virgin after many years off the streets. The Brotherhood of Our Lady of Tabacaleros and Firefighters of Valencia crossed the threshold of the municipal building, a former tobacco factory, to pray for workers, the faithful, and even for Valencia CF, whose stadium is within the demarcation.
This event was very special for former Tabacalera employees and their families, who were part of the procession while the Firefighters and Followers of the Virgin were in charge of carrying the image, which weighs over 700 kilos. Also participating were the senior falleras of Valencia, with their courts of honor, falla commissions linked to firefighters, the Exposición-Micer Mascó neighborhood falla, and PP councilors.
The image was first transferred to the parish of San Pascual Bailón, on Doctor Moliner Street. After the main mass, it toured its natural area: Artes Gráficas, Avenida de Suecia (next to the Mestalla stadium), and the demarcation of the Exposición-Micer Mascó falla, before returning to the municipal building. The stop in front of the Valencia CF field was mandatory, given the importance of the moment in the season.
“"Hardworking, brave, and entrepreneurial people, always at the forefront."
The procession highlights the value of an image that returned to the Valencia City Council building in 2011 and is strongly linked to the history of the old factory. The image was commissioned in 1940 by the well-known «cigarreras», factory workers who kept their devotion alive as a symbol of identity for the neighborhood and the workplace itself.
In 2002, the workers ceded the image to the municipal Fire Department to be part of the future Firefighters Museum. The Virgin has had various locations, including the City Museum, and was restored in the «Angelitos Negros» workshop before its return in March 2011. That was the last time it went out in procession, also stopping at the church of San Pascual Bailón.
In 2016, the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) requested the Valencia City Council to remove the image, considering it an «improper icon» and not part of the protected historical complex. The image is a replica of Our Lady of the Forsaken from the Basilica, with its characteristic iconographic elements, and presided over the city's festivities between 1940 and 1942 while the original was being restored.
