Background
Birriel, born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, was the son of Pedro and Dionisia Birriel and was the oldest of six siblings.
Birriel, born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, was the son of Pedro and Dionisia Birriel and was the oldest of six siblings.
His highest level of education was up to the second grade in elementary school. He also worked in the fields picking fruits and coffee beans and as a waterboy, delivered water to the sugar cane workers. 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 had developed a tumor. Even though the condition did not have a known cure, it was still treatable.
The treatment required a radio therapy machine which could only be found in the United States. The machine was sent in 1932, but it was not until 1941 — nine years later — that it finally arrived in Puerto Rico.
He appeared in the film Flight of the Lost Balloon filmed in Puerto Rico in 1961.
In 1974, during the celebration of the International Basketball Federation 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.