Felipe Birriel Fernández, also known as "El Gigante de Carolina" (Carolina's Giant) (August 16, 1916 – March 15, 1994) is considered to have been the tallest Puerto Rican, with an unconfirmed height of .

Early years

Birriel was born in

Carolina, Puerto Rico Carolina (; ) is a city and municipality located on the northeast coast of Puerto Rico. It lies immediately east of the capital San Juan and Trujillo Alto; north of Gurabo and Juncos; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread over ...

. He was the son of Pedro Birriel and Dionisia Fernández and was the oldest of six siblings. His highest level of education was up to the second grade in elementary school. As a child, Birriel was sent to the farm fields where he helped his parents plant vegetable seeds. He also worked in the fields picking fruits and coffee beans and as a waterboy, delivered water to the

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

workers.The Giant of Carolina
/ref> In 1932, when Birriel was 16 years old, he started to grow at an alarming rate. One day, he went to visit a doctor because he felt sick with dizzy spells and because he was also feeling weak. The doctor informed Birriel that for some unknown reason, his

pituitary gland In vertebrate anatomy, the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland, about the size of a chickpea and weighing, on average, in humans. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain. The h ...

had developed a

tumor A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

. Even though the condition did not have a known cure, it was still treatable.

Condition treatment

The treatment required a radio therapy machine which could only be found in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The machine was sent in 1932, but it was not until 1941—nine years later—that it finally arrived in Puerto Rico.

Later years

Birriel lived with his brother and sister-in-law in the town of Carolina and became something of a folk hero and known as "El Gigante de Carolina" (The Giant of Carolina). He appeared in the film ''

Flight of the Lost Balloon ''Flight of the Lost Balloon'' is a 1961 film produced, written and directed by Nathan Juran and stars Mala Powers and Marshall Thompson. The film was inspired by Jules Verne's 1863 novel ''Five Weeks in a Balloon'' and beat the major Irwin All ...

'' filmed in Puerto Rico in 1961.Flight of the Lost Balloon
/ref> In 1974, during the celebration of the FIBA World Basketball Championships celebrated in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the ...

, Birriel was the guest of honor and was invited to the

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor su ...

, in front of all the spectators he dunked the ball without jumping, a standing ovation followed. The

Government of Puerto Rico The government of Puerto Rico is a republican form of government with separation of powers, subject to the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United States.heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

on March 15, 1994, at the age of 77, in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Birriel was unique in reaching a relatively old age while being as tall as he was; most extremely tall people tend to experience serious disabling medical conditions such as the ones that eventually crippled, and then killed,

Robert Wadlow Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man who was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raise ...

(the tallest human during his lifetime) at an early age.

Honors

The town of Carolina is also known as the "Land of Giants" in honor of Birriel. Carolina also unveiled a mural which states the following: "Carolina, Tierra de Gigantes" (Carolina, Land of Giants). The BSN basketball team of Carolina is called "Los Gigantes de Carolina" (The Carolina Giants) and the town has dedicated a museum to the memory of Birriel and has also named a street "El Paseo Felipe Birriel". Wanda de Jesús Arvelo, an author from Carolina wrote a children's book about Birriel's life titled "Felipe Corazón de Gigantes".

References

External links