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. 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. 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. So 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 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.
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