Diego Hernandez
Audio By Carbonatix
The Grinch in the Dr. Seuss series used to stir trouble because his heart was too small. But for 36-year-old artist Marco Saucedo, dressing up as the character is a way to spread cheer and collaborate with local businesses.
Throughout the day, Saucedo works for the City of Dallas as a city analyst. He’s also known as ArtByMSauce on TikTok. Since November, he’s been the Grinch.
This year, while taking commissions to appear at private events and parties, Saucedo kept himself engaged around the city. Whether strolling the streets or appearing at local charity events, Saucedo says he wants to do “nothing more than spreading the cheer.
“It’s that connection with kids or families and that reaction always hypes me up and keeps me going,” he says.
The Grinch Unmasked
As a self-proclaimed “Halloween enthusiast,” Saucedo has always been one to embrace costumes. Four years ago, a friend of his was hosting a toy drive and he recalls her telling him, “Hey, you should dress up as the Grinch.”
“Initially it was for fun and for charity, and then I started getting requests,” Saucedo says.
With an increase in funding, he was able to upgrade his outfit. He based his current look around the 2000 film How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Attired in a green, shaggy fur-covered body suit that matches the Grinch’s iconic look, Saucedo has taken on the character’s mischievous charm. His body suit has a fake chubby belly look and an enlarged butt, which Saucedo added as a joke. He sports a prosthetic foam latex mask with green-colored contacts but leaves openings around his eyes and mouth where he paints his skin to match.
Saucedo says the getup costs between $200 and $300, and he styles the initial Grinch outfit with either a holiday sweater or a Santa jacket.
“It took me two hours to get ready and I’m still not wearing pants,” he jokingly says about how long preparation takes.
When he sees others settling for a mere mask instead of an outfit, he says, that’s when he truly feels like the Grinch.
“They didn’t get into it, didn’t care and didn’t feel it,” Saucedo says. “I’ve become it.”
Saucedo says he has studied the Grinch films “so many times” that he lost track. He also claims that fitting into an approachable character in public comes naturally to him.
“I’m always somebody that’s really light-hearted,” Saucedo says. “I’m always first to make a friend. Something about me is I’m always going to crack my jokey jokes at work, with family [and] at random times with regular people. It’s just who I am.”
How the Grinch Plans To Give Back Christmas
Saucedo says he typically does not hold benefit events, an exception being a two-turkey giveaway Instagram post during Thanksgiving. Instead, he says he attends these events whether invited or not, like he did on Dec. 8. That day, he attended a charity event by Hangover Riders DTX club without notifying them, but was welcomed regardless.
“Usually what I like to do is, if I get a paid gig, I reach out to nonprofits or friends that are in nonprofits around the city and see if they have some event that day; [then] I crash it, and I just bring smiles to people,” Saucedo says.
Saucedo says he will join Hangover Riders DTX again to give out the toys with the funds they raised for the event, but he’s waiting for the club to schedule a date. Until then his next scheduled charity events will be on Dec. 22 at Escapade Club for a toy drive and on Christmas day with the Dallas Lowriders on Jefferson Boulevard giving out toys.
It’s not likely that he will host his own event, Saucedo says, because there are “plenty of nonprofits in the city” that he would prefer to partner with for promotion. Regardless, he wants to spread cheer every time he takes to the streets in his Grinch costume, and he encourages others to do the same.
“Keep spreading the cheer,” Saucedo says. “It could come from a grumpy person. It could come from somebody who doesn’t like Christmas, but, just don’t stop being a kid. Don’t stop having some imagination and fun throughout the year, not just now.”