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29th Apr 2021

Juan Joya Borja, the ‘Spanish laughing guy’ meme, has died

Claudia McInerney

Juan Joya Borja, the ‘Spanish laughing guy’ meme, has died aged 65

Often referred to as ‘The Giggles’ in Spain, he will be remembered by many fans for his comical meme.

The TV personality and comedian died in Seville following a “long illness” , as reported by El Mundo

Borja was hospitalised in 2020.

Known as “The Giggles” due to his iconic laugh, the star became well-known following his appearance on the variety show Ratines Caloraos.

During an interview with the show’s host Jesus Quintero several years ago, Rojas recalled a time when he threw dishes into the sea when he was working as a young man, however he found his own tale so amusing that he burst into hysterical laughter, and then the iconic meme was born.

The show Ratones Coloraos uploaded a snippet of the video to YouTube and it was not long until the whole of Spain had seen the video of Baja laughing.

Borja became a popular meme in around 2014. Fans replaced Baja’s original tale and replace it with their own subtitles for comedic effect.

Borja would often feature as an employee for a company and would laugh about a story about how silly their boss or a customer was. He also featured widely UK as part of a meme about a family fighting over Brexit.

His legacy lives on in the comic memes he will be missed by fans from around the world.