Manuel Alvarez Bravo often chose the Mexican landscape to depict the way people made use of national symbols. In this image, the maguey plant, an icon of strength and perseverance, serves as an improvised rack for drying linens. The title, The Washerwomen Implied, alludes to the absent figures who have hung the bedclothes. Though this photograph seeems to document the cultural decline of the maguey, it celebrates the ingenuity of those who find their resources in what is simply available.