El Chorro laundries were for years meeting point for Sanmiguelenses women who gathered to wash clothes
San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato.- The La Chorro laundries, which for almost 200 years were functional for those who came to wash their clothes, are today a tourist point for visitors and inspiration of artists who come to portray the peculiar place that It is located a few meters from the historic center.
This site was for years of meeting for Sanmiguelenses women who, from different parts of the city, gathered to wash clothes taking advantage of the water from the spring that gave rise to the city.
This site was for years meeting point for Sanmiguelenses women. Photo: Ingrid Devesa
Its origin dates back to the 18th century, when Manuel Francisco de la Channel, who had arrived in San Miguel el Grande in the year of 1732, commanded to build public baths and laundries in order to take advantage of the water outbreak.
El Chorro laundries are a historic site. Photo: Special
In the upper part of what is known today as the jet, seven rooms were installed that housed five public bathrooms, one private and one more, where the water sprouted, which was used to save what was necessary for cleaning and maintenance.
The water that was not used in these bathrooms ran downhill and was the one used in the laundry rooms, 10 located in front of the bathrooms, but at a lower level, and 19 formed in a squad that were built in a square in the part Low of the place.
The water reached the laundries through mud pipes and thanks to the gravity, the liquid ran through a channel that passed along the 19 spaces destined to carve the clothes, which allowed women to be drinking the necessary water without limitation and also continue to run to supply all washing stalls.
The laundry rooms are made of concrete, with a slope that allows the drain and texture that helps the clothing size better. Between each one there is sufficient space for a person, so they should be placed giving the sword to the previous laundry.
Today the laundries are today a tourist point for visitors and inspiration of artists. Photo: Ingrid Devesa
Those who washed there, installed clotheslines from the center of the square to be able to pray the clothes before loading it on their baskets and return home.
While the women washed, the children played in the square or released wooden sticks on the channel to see which one came first at the end. The water that was not used to wash and followed its journey by concrete channel reached the orchards that occupied the space of what is now the Juarez Park.
At present, the rooms that were originally public bathrooms are used as offices, and only the 19 laundries in the lower part keep the memory of when the water sprouted naturally and they were not necessary deep wells to access the liquid.
Source: periodicocorreo
