‘KEKW’ emote and Spanish Laughing Guy meme has died

• Spanish actor and comedian Juan Joya Borja also known as “El Risitas” has passed away.
• Borja soared to internet fame in 2015 when a clip of him hysterically laughing uncontrollably was shared on YouTube.
• His video became a meme as well as a Twitch emote. The clip itself has spawned many parodies.
• However, he has passed away due to an illness.
• He passed away on April 28, 2021 in the hospital in his hometown in Seville.

A lot has seen the meme of the Spanish guy laughing hysterically. The meme has become so popular, not only was the video shared, it also became a gif and a Twitch emote.

Unfortunately, Spanish actor and comedian Juan Joya Borja whose stage name is “El Risitas” has recently passed away due to what Spanish newspapers described as “long illness” which had led him to be hospitalized back in 2020.

He has become known as “El Risitas” or in English means “The Giggles”. His meme was based on his laugh as well. It is very recognizable, distinct and would also make you laugh with him.

In the video Borja was telling a story and at the end he found it so funny that he couldn’t help himself but laugh hysterically. It was uploaded on YouTube and gained popularity in his country, however the meme would be born almost a decade after.

The shortened clip was then used as a meme format and people would change it’s subtitles that is unrelated to the original story. It was then parodied by various people in different situations.

He soared to internet fame in 2015.

Since then, it was spawned many variations and would also then become an emoji on popular streaming platform Twitch. His emoji would then be named ‘KEKW’ which was an emote mainly used to laugh at something or someone. Twitch users would mostly use the KEKW emoji when the streamer they are watching would make a mistake on their game.

Since it’s popularity on Twitch, the KEKW emoji has then also moved to other platforms such as Discord which a lot of Twitch users also use. Most users would use the same emojis from Twitch and upload them on their own Discord servers.

His meme was so popular that became an iconic emoji as well as gif that is shared whenever something is funny.

Borja struggled with his illness in 2020 which led to his passing on April 28, 2021. He passed away in the hospital in his hometown in Seville.

When the internet realized his illness including his diabetes, money was raised for his medical fees. Borja has thanked all the donators for their support through a YouTube video.

The whole internet has come to mourn his passing and remember his iconic giggles. He may have passed away but his meme will always be shared and enjoyed by everyone.

Rest in peace, Juan Joya Borja.