In Santa Cruz, washerwomen and water carriers were honored in memory.

In Santa Cruz, there is a monument to the washerwomen. It stands in Los Lavaderos Square, near the Mencey Hotel. It was created by the sculptor Raquel Planes. These are two bronze figures: a mother wringing out clothes, and a son standing next to her, leaning on a laundry basket. Nearby is a stone for washing.

A long time ago, when Santa Cruz had just appeared, most people did not have wells at home. Therefore, women went to wash in the ravines. There they made small lakes, holding back water with stones, earth, grass, and reeds. They placed sloping stones and washed clothes on them with Lagarto soap, and then rinsed with the addition of bluing.

They washed like this until 1842. Then the city authorities decided that there was unsanitary conditions in those lakes, and built public laundries outside the city.

The place was chosen in the Almeida ravine, at the end of Canales Bajas Street (now Doctor Guigou Street). The aqueduct from Mount Aguirre, which supplied the city with water, passed there.

A square building with four wings was built. There were 60 washing stones made of tiles with a beveled edge and grooves.

In 1853, the rules of use and prices were approved. Each washerwoman had to pay four quarts for using the trough and water.

This place was a real center of gossip. Washerwomen smoked, sang, told jokes, and shared news and rumors there.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the laundries were closed. People complained that there was not enough water, the laundries were not taken care of, they were dirty and everything was in poor condition.

Santa Cruz also has a sculpture that honors the water carriers. It stands in Santo Domingo Square, near the Guimerá Theater. It was made of bronze by the artist Medina Martín Barrios from La Palma in 2000. It depicts a barefoot woman carrying a jug on her head. Nearby is the Chorro de Santo Domingo, a decorative stone fountain installed in 1894.

The water carriers took water from the first public fountain, which was installed in 1706 in La Pila Square (now La Candelaria Square). The water was delivered there from Mount Aguirre via a 12-kilometer aqueduct (wooden canals).

In 1835, the city council approved rules on how water carriers should stand in line and on which days to draw water from different fountains. A few years later, they were required to wear uniforms. The city council paid two-thirds of the cost of the uniform, and they themselves paid the remaining third through a monthly contribution.

During the Heroic Defense on July 25, 1797, the water carriers showed heroism. They delivered water and food to the troops at the height of Paso Alto, protecting the island from the attack of Horatio Nelson's squadron.