The exhibition, which can be visited until 8 October, aims to highlight and recognise the rural women of La Laguna
The Hermitage of San Miguel in La Laguna is hosting an exhibition until 8 October that explores the history of one of the most representative professions of rural women in the past: the milkmaids, who traversed La Laguna and Santa Cruz selling milk door to door.
This exhibition was inaugurated on Wednesday by the Councillor for Festivals and Equality, Dailos González, the representative of the Sectoral Council of Clothing for the Cabildo of Tenerife, Dulce Rodríguez, and the historian Zebensuí López Trujillo, the curator of the exhibition. It is open for visits from Tuesday to Friday from 10:00 to 14:00 and 15:00 to 17:00, and on Saturdays from 10:00 to 13:00.
During the opening event, Dailos González indicated that the exhibition arises as “a way not only to value the work of milkmaids, their life stories, and the cultural and ethnographic heritage they contribute, but also to give visibility and recognition to rural women of La Laguna in general, whose work was closely linked to livestock breeding and the processing and sale of resources such as milk or cheese.”
Dulce Rodríguez explained the characteristics of the clothing worn by milkmaids, represented through mannequins displaying the evolution of garments from the late 19th century to the 1940s and 1950s. “The clothing speaks, and simply by looking at it, we can listen to its story,” she remarked.
Meanwhile, the exhibition curator, Zenbensuí Díaz, mentioned that beneath the “romantic vision” of the milkmaid profession lies a sector of hardworking, entrepreneurial women who, at that time, possessed a level of empowerment not found in other sectors, especially in rural areas. They were women capable not only of covering great distances selling their products but also of confronting authorities to maintain their business model. With this exhibition, “we have aimed to highlight not just the milkmaids of La Laguna but to provide them with names and surnames, identifying each one in her neighbourhood and area, thanks to documents preserved in the Municipal Archive of La Laguna,” he elaborated.
In addition to informative panels, large-format images, and various visual aids, the exhibition offers visitors a collection of items related to the activities of milkmaids, such as documents, wicker baskets, various types of milk containers, and a lactodensimeter for sanitary control, enhancing the appeal of the exhibition and allowing users to learn about the material details of this traditional profession. A documentary film from the Canary Islands Film Library with significant documentary value is also featured.
Most milkmaids transported milk in tin containers balanced on their heads, travelling great distances from production areas (Las Mercedes, La Esperanza, or Tegueste) to urban centres. Today, the so-called ‘milkmaids’ path’ still exists, linking the valleys of La Laguna with Santa Cruz.
This profession began to decline in rural areas from the last third of the 20th century, due to the establishment and intensification of health regulations, and the advent of processed and packaged milk sales. In 1962, the Civil Government of the province prohibited the bulk sale of fresh milk, leading to the disappearance of milkmaids. Before vanishing, they staged one of the most notable protests of the era in front of the Civil Government headquarters in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
In this context, La Laguna, alongside Rosario and Tegueste, was one of the principal places for both the production and sale of fresh milk as well as its commercialisation. Many rural women from La Laguna, particularly from areas like Las Mercedes, engaged in this activity daily as their primary means of livelihood.
