The Laundresses of River Manzanares

The laundresses of River Manzanares as they were painted by F. Goya. (Prado Museum in Madrid)

Unlike many of the European cities where their rivers pass through the city centre, In Madrid their river known as River Manzanares passes through areas in the back of beyond.

Along the river there were sort of little houses or huts made of cane and it was here where the women washed the laundry of the city’s rich to earn a humble living. These little houses or huts protected them from the sunlight in summer, although, many others dag a hole by the banks of the river to retain the water, so they could wash and rinse it. Then, they hanged it on lines among the trees. This is the way these women earned their living apart from other jobs, which were mainly cleaning for the same people they washed their clothes. 

Have we ever wondered how these women had their knees and hands? Washing non-stop whether there was shine or cold.

The area of Lavapies is located in the central area of Madrid.

The popular buhardillas as they are today. Nothing to do with past times where there lacked every modern convinience.

These women lived in areas as Lavapies (as shown on the map) and in small lofts called “buhardillas” (also as shown in photograph) These days this type of housing has become very trendy among young people and artists and building societies have taken many of them to refurbisb them all and placing all the modern facilities. But they weren’t like this at  the time F. Goya painted these women labouring by the banks of River Manzanares. They lived all in one or two rooms. They didn’t have a shiny floor or domestic appliances, especially because there were none of these back then. That explains why the well off hired women to do their laundry. They cooked on paraffin stoves and kept the food either in dark cupboards or on windowsills.

Every cent they earned with such slave work was to feed their numerous families and keep things gong.

There was no pay rise for them and no retirement pension for them. It was all work till death and they couldn’t treat themselves to any luxury whatsoever. They considered themselves lucky if the could pay up their rents, the electricity bill or the groceries shopping. 

In these sort of housing, there was no bathroom or toilet, but there was a communal one for all the neighbours living in the same building.

Times have changed, but we are going to keep a thought for those women that left their hands and knees by the Rver Manzanares.

Societies have always progrssed beacuse of slave work from others.