A video is going viral because it shows the Grinch at Universal Studios Hollywood surprising a pair of young guests by switching from English to their native language, Spanish.
The Grinch Speaks Spanish to Young Universal Guests
The video was posted by Ana Jaqueline Martínez Plascencia, who traveled from Guadalajara, Mexico with her husband Josue and their kids, Eithan, 11, and Lía, 4, to celebrate Lía’s birthday. Eithan and Lía were both decked out in Grinch outfits to meet the character, who appears as part of “Grinchmas” celebrations.
“They were both super excited, they didn’t take off their costumes for a single minute, even though it was hot,” Plascencia told People in an email translated from Spanish. “We waited in line for more than four hours. We had to eat in line so we wouldn’t lose our place, but the time passed very quickly. My children got more and more excited as we moved forward.”
Lía immediately hugged the Grinch as he complimented her outfit in English and said, “You were waiting all your life for this, weren’t you?”
Eithan and Lía both then said “Hola,” and the Grinch realized, “No hablas Inglés!” (“You don’t speak English!”) He immediately started chatting in Spanish, asking the kids for their names, where they were from, and if they brought him any treats from Guadalajara.
“¡Nada!” he declared when they said they hadn’t. “No me traen nada, feos.” This translates to, “Nothing! They bring me nothing, uglies.”
Lía only speaks Spanish while Eithan is studying English. The family had seen videos of the Grinch speaking Spanish online, and the kids were excited to meet him.
“My daughter told me the whole way there that when she spoke to him, she would call him ‘Ugly,’ ” Plascencia said. She felt bad when he initially spoke to them in English, “but as soon as he spoke [in Spanish], they started smiling. When we finished talking to him, my children repeated every single word he said to us. He called me ugly and my husband bald. They laughed all day and watched the videos many times.”
“It was a wonderful day,” she added. “We got home and they’re already planning how to save up to visit him again. They’re already planning what they’re going to say to him the next time they see him. And I’m the happiest mom to be able to share this experience with them.”
The video has 2.6 million views as of writing. Plascencia said, “Every comment I read makes me smile. This empathy with Spanish speakers is incredible.”
Watch the video below.
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