Felipe Birriel - Later Years

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 filmed in Puerto Rico in 1961. In 1974, during the celebration of the FIBA World Basketball Championships celebrated in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Birriel was the guest of honor and was invited to the basketball court, in front of all the spectators he dunked the ball without jumping, a standing ovation followed.

The Government of Puerto Rico and local businessmen helped him economically, since his daily personal needs could not be met with the money that he earned in personal appearances. The owners of local furniture stores also helped Birriel by making furniture especially for him. His health, however had worsened progressively and he died from a heart attack 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 (the tallest human in the world during his lifetime) at an early age.