SpainSays, the leap into the real world of Instagram that jokes about the particularities of being Spanish: “In another country I wouldn’t have the same success”

Rosalía is one of the most followed Spanish artists on Instagram, with some 28 million users following her on this social network. The singer, on the other hand, follows less than 4,000 profiles. One of the lucky ones is SpainSays, a creative phenomenon that began with an innocent and funny publication on networks and has ended up becoming a multichannel brand. Mike Gasch (28 years old) and Carlos Heredia (30) are the two people from Alicante behind this initiative that has just turned five years old and, although in a video call with EL PAÍS they do not locate the exact content of that first publication – “It was something about Alicante,” Heredia contributes –, they do remember well what the objective was: “None.” «It was a game, a cliché taken to the absurd. We uploaded it without expectations and within a week there were people saying: ‘Man, this is very Spain’. And we thought: ‘Hey, maybe it’s not just a joke,’ explains Gasch. SpainSays became known as an Instagram account that humorously praises Spanish uses and customs and values ​​them in the face of the widespread Anglo-Saxon influence. «In Spain we don’t say ‘idiot.’ are some of the viral phrases that appear on their wall, where they accumulate thousands of likes. «The karma thing is one of the hits; we can raise it 20 times, and 20 times it works,» says Gasch. He refers to his famous «In Spain we don’t say ‘karma’. We say ‘that happens to you because you’re an asshole'», which has also become a message on the t-shirts and doormats they sell in their online store. More information This store, where there are t-shirts with messages like «Siesta fucks american dream» or doormats that warn that «Good friends bring croquettes», is just one of the many legs of the big business that their viral community is becoming. They have devised campaigns for brands such as Vueling, Bumble, Camper or Martini – “In Spain we say vermuteo”, said the label of a limited edition of 660,000 bottles – as well as for town councils throughout Spain. In 2022 they released a book, Ni fu ni fuck: English by the face, with “everything that English books have not dared to teach you,” according to the synopsis. And this 2025, to celebrate their fifth anniversary, they have announced the creation of their new creative agency, Cuatro Pueblos, and the launch of a music festival, Son de Spain. “Maybe in the future we will set up a language school to teach Spanish, it is our dream,” Gasch proposes. For now, they are excited about the preparations for the festival, which will take place on August 14 and 15, 2026 at El Muelle Live, in their native Alicante — from where, for the moment, they have no intention of moving. “We didn’t want to do a millennial festival because there are many already,” says Heredia. “What does make sense is that we celebrate the Spanish music industry and its great songs,” adds his partner. The first preview of artists includes David Bustamante, Nena Daconte, Maldita Nerea, David Civera and Bebe. “+ 15 artists to be confirmed”, warns the poster with which they announced the sale of the 15,000 tickets available on December 10. For Heredia, this jump to the real world is the natural step of a virtual project formed by “two kids who are dedicated to the world of leisure.” In fact, that was where they met. The SpainSays Instagram profile emerged during the pandemic, when nightlife ceased to exist. “We started with it to have fun, to pass the time,” they remember. “Carlos was the one who closed deals while Mike refined ideas and texts that, unbeknownst to them, would end up being the root of one of the most viral cultural communities in the country,” they said in a presentation text that they sent by email before the video call. Like everything that works on the internet, SpainSays has had imitators—even copies—but they do so well that they don’t care. «We are proud that, now, as soon as people see a yellow post and a left-justified phrase, they already remember us. We have created a very recognizable code,» celebrates Gasch. Its color is yellow, yes, but there is no trace of red. They believe that the virality of their content is due, precisely, to the fact that their followers identify with a shared feeling of Spanishness treated with humor, without getting into politics or raising flags. «One of the most complicated challenges at the beginning was not to be pigeonholed. We wanted to claim how cool Spanish culture is without needing to give it a political tone or color,» says Gasch. «Spanish has enormous strength if you tell it with affection, humor and reality. If we do this in another country, it would not have the same success,» considers Heredia. The success they have achieved in these five years is undoubted. Screenshots of their phrases circulate in family chats, but also in the stories of Quevedo or Aitana. They remember with special affection the campaign they did for the City Council of their beloved Alicante, when they unfurled a huge 250-meter canvas with one of their phrases over Madrid’s Puerta del Sol. «In Alicante we don’t say ‘happiness’. We say ‘an endless summer, a story to tell and a rice to remember’, and I think it’s beautiful,» it read. They also have a predilection for a campaign that they organized from their networks after the damage that devastated Valencia, in which they teamed up with Famosa to deliver more than 2,000 toys to children in Paiporta and Catarroja. «We understood that the community was not just noise: it was useful. We raised more than 150,000 euros and became a real speaker available to people who needed help at that moment,» says Gasch. It is clear that the formula works. But… until when? Does Spain have unlimited resources for this type of humorous content? “After three years or so we said: ‘Wow, this might end at some point’. But we have reinvented ourselves and have been trying other formats,” Gasch acknowledges. Formats such as video, with which they now also tour towns or tell curiosities about Spanish culture. Heredia is clear and very optimistic about his future: «The end will be when we stop laughing at ourselves. That is, never.»