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Walk through the centre of Murcia on a hot day right now and you will notice something that would have looked unusual just a few years ago. People carrying umbrellas. Not because of rain, but because of the sun.

 

What was once seen as a quirky habit, more associated with Latin American countries than Spain, has quietly become mainstream. With temperatures pushing well above 40 degrees this summer, more and more people are reaching for a parasol before heading out, and the shops can barely keep up.

 

Carmen Galindo, who runs the long-established Sombreros Galindo hat shop on Arco de Verónicas in Murcia, looked at her nearly empty display case and summed it up simply: "I had seventy umbrellas and I've sold them all. I only have one left." Customers of all ages are buying them, she adds.

 

The umbrellas being sold for sun protection are not the same as the ones you reach for when it rains. They are designed specifically for UV protection, typically very light and treated with a coating that reduces the temperature you feel underneath. The one Carmen was holding up weighs just 99 grams and offers 99.8% sun protection.

 

Daniela, a Nicaraguan woman who uses one regularly on her daily walk along Gran Vía, is not surprised by the growing trend. "We Latinos are used to using them, and I see them more and more among Spaniards," she says. Isabel, originally from Murcia, started using one a couple of years ago. "The temperatures are scorching and the sun's rays are very direct," she explains.

 

The health case for them is straightforward. Eduardo González, president of the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) in the Region of Murcia, welcomes the shift. "Shade is essential to avoid ultraviolet rays and prevent skin cancer," he says, noting that parasols actually offer better protection than hats or caps. "It's something we want to promote," he adds, pointing out that people are finally starting to take sun exposure more seriously. His final word of advice: always use sunscreen as well.

 

For anyone who has spent a July afternoon navigating sun-baked streets with no shade in sight, the case for carrying one really does make itself.

 

 

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