Popular memes have an uncanny ability to cross cultures and spread like wildfire on the Internet.
Still, some popular memes can sometimes seem beyond comprehension. It’s hard, for example, to look at a photo of a horse on a balcony with a text that reads “Juan” and immediately understand what it indicates.
For that reason, we’ll take a look at what the Juan meme means and how it came to be. We’ll also show you how to use it, so stick around!
What Does Juan Meme Mean?
The Juan meme, also known as the Horse on Balcony meme, consists of a zoomed-in low-quality image of a horse standing on a balcony and bottom text that reads “Juan.”
It usually takes on a different meaning depending on the meme format in which it’s used. On Reddit, the Juan meme is about a god-like horse that’s all-seeing and all-knowing.
This meaning most likely originates from a Spanish Fandom Wiki page that describes Juan the horse as a powerful, crime-solving racehorse that keeps an eye on Mamarre City from the balcony.
Some people, on the other hand, speculate that what makes Juan popular and funny is its similarity to the Man Horse meme and the Spanish Horse Luis meme
That said, the Juan meme is in the same league as non-sequitur, cursed image memes that go viral for their absurdist sense of humor.
How Did Juan Meme Emerge?
Before the Juan meme became popular in 2020, the image of the horse itself has been circulating on the internet since at least 2015.
The Polish Horse on Balcony
Before the original image of the Juan meme was posted to the internet, there was another horse in Poland raising all sorts of questions a year prior.
In 2014, Mirror published an article about a man who was protecting his horse from getting stolen by keeping it on the balcony.
Soon after, the scene drew the attention of onlookers, and photos of the horse on the balcony began circulating the internet—and we, internet users, know how meme-material a photo like that can be.
Original Image and Its Memefication
A year later, the original, uncropped image of the horse on the balcony was first posted to Imgur in November 2015 with the caption, “Only in Malta.”
It immediately grabbed the attention of Tumblr users and was used with bottom texts like, “I’m not like other girls.”
For several years, the unedited image had resurfaced from time to time, appearing in photoshops and numerous image macros.
The First Juan Meme
It wasn’t until June 11 of 2020 that the image became a viral meme when Instagram user graphic.design.is.mypassion posted the now-iconic Juan meme.
The Instagram post ended up receiving over 2,000 likes in less than a year, and many internet users started sharing it across many social media platforms.
Some internet users speculate that the account was having a go at the “What Animal You Are” trend but in the form of a more absurd, cursed-image meme.
How to Use It
The Juan meme is often used in a similar manner to its absurd, cursed-image trademark.
You can create your Juan meme using the image as the fourth panel in a four-panel format meme, such as this post on Reddit that received over 18,000 upvotes.
You can also make a self-aware meme that references how odd Millennial and Gen-Z humor can be, like this meme on Reddit.
Some internet users have even taken to combining the Juan meme with other images of horses standing in unusual places, such as in this video with over 47,000 views.
Featured image source: Pinterest
