A traditional accessory has become ubiquitous across crowded Spanishmetro carriages and sunlit plazas this year, driven by the intense summer heat.
Small enough to fit inside a handbag, the classic folding hand fan, or abanico, opens into a semicircle. A simple flick of the wrist produces a surprisingly strong breeze.
As successive heatwaves pushed temperatures in Western Europe to punishing levels this summer, the item became an essential, embraced by young and old from Spain and beyond. Women — and an increasing number of men — now unfurl them on public transport, at concerts and at music festivals. In July, rainbow-coloured abanicos were visible everywhere during Madrid’s Pride celebrations.
On a recent August day, 20-year-old Ana Feliu blocked the sun with a paper abanico she was gifted during a Valencian festival. She carries it everywhere in the summer, she said.
open image in gallery“This one is my favorite, but I have many,” she revealed near Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square. Temperatures in the Spanish capital are forecast to climb to 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit) on Thursday and Friday.
Also fanning himself was David González, whose abanico featured pinks, purples and reds.
“At first, I felt a little self-conscious, because it’s something that’s mainly associated with women, but I have to admit it serves a purpose — and it brightens my day,” said González, 53.
The fan’s global roots
Historians believe the folding fan reached Europe through Portuguese maritime trade with Asia in the 15th and 16th centuries.
As early as the mid-17th century, the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez made his enigmatic “The Lady with a Fan,” in which a woman, possibly French, poses with what appears to be a delicate wooden abanico.
As they grew fashionable in European courts, Spain developed a taste and industry of its own. Madrid became an important center of production, and by the 18th century, Valencia had emerged as the Spanish fan-making capital.
open image in gallerySo embedded was the abanico in Spanish aristocratic society by the 1800s that women used them to discreetly express flirtation, interest or disapproval through what was called “the language of the fan.”
From Spain, the hand fan traveled to Latin America. In the 19th century, flamenco dancers began using the abanico as an expressive prop, as Cuban song and dance styles such as the guajira influenced the dance form. Over time, the fan’s association with flamenco helped turn it into a quintessential Spanish symbol.
“The fan is a perfect element because, on the one hand, it evokes the heat and humidity of Cuba — that heavy, oppressive feeling,” said Carmen Torres, a 44-year-old flamenco dancer in southern Spain. “And at the same time, it gives us a way to bring out the seductive, coquettish quality.”
From century-old shops to souvenir kiosks
For more than a century and a half, Javier Llerandi’s family has sold abanicos out of Casa de Diego, a wood-paneled shop in Madrid.
“We live from the heat,” Llerandi said.
open image in galleryThe fans at Casa de Diego are made in Spain and range from simple two-tone wooden ones to elaborate, hand-painted items crafted from mother-of-pearl with intricate floral patterns. They start around 30 euros ($35), while others cost 200 to 500 euros (up to $580) and some high-end pieces reach 6,000 euros (nearly $7,000). Prices vary based on the materials used and, even more so, the workmanship involved, he said.
As Madrid has grown into a tourist hotspot, foreign visitors are also snatching up his fans, which Llerandi notes are more reliable than their portable, electric counterparts.
“Battery-run items eventually run out of power, and always at the worst possible moment,” Llerandi said, adding with a smile: “Without a doubt, heat waves are good for this business.”
And for the less discerning customer, plastic fans with printed designs are sold for a few euros at souvenir kiosks, including one a couple hundred meters from Llerandi’s store. There, too, a salesperson reported strong sales this summer.
open image in galleryOutside a towering bullfighting ring in Madrid, Juani Duran sells wooden hand fans with traditional floral designs for five euros apiece at a stall. Bullfights take place in open-air stadiums, and spectators traditionally dress up to attend them, making the elegant fans a fitting accessory.
“You’ll usually find a hand fan in any woman’s pocket — and in some men’s, too,” Duran said before a late-August bullfight.
“They’re not the best quality,” she said, pointing at her stock, “but they’ll get you through the summer.”