The spokesperson for Commitments at Valencia Town Hall Papi Robles will be the bearer of Royal Senera inside Valencian Community DayOctober 9 by appointment of the mayor of Valencia Maria José Catalá. But the brand will play in an unusual way change of hands at the entrance and exit of Valencia Cathedral for the religious act of Te Deum. Because Papi Robles refuses to bring the flag into the templeso it will be clean María José Catalá who takes overpresent the flag, keep it in the temple and give it to them later. SO, The flag will change hands twice at the gates of the Cathedral.
With this decision, Papi Robles follows in the wake left by his predecessor at the head of the municipal group, the also nationalist Joan Ribó, who, during his mandate as mayor, showed himself opposed to the entry of the flag into the cathedral for the religious act.
The refusal of Papi Robles to introduce the banner in the temple forced María José Catalá to look for a mixed formula. Thus, an unusual event will occur: in reality there will be two carriers of the Royal Senera Valencian Community Day. One, Papi Robles, who will carry the flag to the doors of the Cathedral. Another, María José Catalá, who will introduce the banner into the temple and keep it during the religious service. All this, as might be expected, without Papi Robles.
Once again, María José Catalá will draw lots at the end of the Te Deum the Royal Lady of the Cathedral. AND He will give it back to Papi Robles again. And it will be she who will carry the banner from there to the Parterre for the floral offering to King James I.
That is to say that the Valencian Royal Señera will de facto have two aircraft carriers on October 9 and will change hands twice. One, upon entering the temple. And another, leaving him.
It turns out that just a year ago Joan Ribó himself declared that the return of the Valencian royal queen to the religious event was “go back to the Franco era“. And he criticized the new mayor María José Catalá, holder of the Real Señera in 2023, for having also been so in 2019: “I hope that she does not become so again every year”, she declared then.
And indeed, that will not be the case. Because who this corresponds to now is Papi Robles. The latter, although she declared on her social networks that wearing the señera is “one of the greatest honors that can be had for a city as large as Valencia”, decided, at the same time, to follow in the wake left by Joan Ribó. And he refused to introduce the Valencian flag into the temple.
María José Catalá described Papi Robles’ decision as “staff» and decided to take care of the doors of the temple herself so that the standard would be introduced into the Cathedral and be present inside during the religious act.
All this created a surprise in Valencia, on a day when the events of October 9 They capitalize on interest for several reasons. Among them, the profile of Valencian identity facing the challenge of independence and the persistence of imposing from Catalonia a Valencian process.
Papi Robles, as has been said, was designated to carry the Royal Señera, directly, by the mayor of Valencia. popular Maria José Catala. For this designation, Catalá followed, in turn, the order fixing the number of councilors with municipal representation.
According to this same order, next year the person who will carry the flag will be Borja Sanjuán, from the PSOE. And, in 2026, the last exercise of the legislature before the next municipal elections, the turn will return to Juan Manuel Badenas, of Vox. Nevertheless, the designation is for the person and not for the political party. Catalá will therefore be able to decide in 12 months who will be the next carrier. And this, in turn, will decide whether or not to introduce the sign into the cathedral.