Coco, a Market, and Día de los Muertos Weekend at Strathmore

Published October 28, 2026 · 4 min read

The film, the market, and the holiday behind both—plus what to know before you go.

Día de los Muertos isn't Mexican Halloween. It's a remembrance—the dead aren't mourned, they're invited back. The skulls are offerings, not decorations. The dead are guests, not ghosts. And for one weekend, Strathmore is giving that tradition a full public showing: a film with a live orchestra, and a market built around it.

Coco Live-to-Film runs Saturday, Oct. 31 at 3:30 PM and Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2:00 PM at The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. Recuerdos: A Latin American Arts Market runs before each screening and during intermission, both days. Tickets and details at strathmore.org.

What's Happening

The centerpiece is Coco, the 2017 Pixar film, projected in full while Michael Giacchino's Oscar- and Grammy-winning score is performed live by the 20-member Orquesta Folclórica Nacional de México. This isn't a symphony playing a soundtrack. The orchestra fuses pre-Hispanic instruments with colonial-era ones—the sound the score was written for.

The film follows Miguel, a boy born into a family that has banned music, who ends up in the Land of the Dead and uncovers the real story behind his family's history. The score includes "Remember Me," the Academy Award-winning song by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.

Lauren Campbell, Strathmore's vice president of education and community engagement, frames the weekend as part of a larger project. "These experiences invite us to reconsider what we know, discover new perspectives and deepen our understanding of the world we share," she said, describing the Windows Series that includes this event.

The live orchestra is the differentiator. It's what makes this an event rather than a screening.

Recuerdos: A Latin American Arts Market at The Music Center at Strathmore. Photo courtesy of Strathmore.

What the Market Actually Is

Recuerdos is co-presented by Strathmore and the Montgomery County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. It's a community marketplace celebrating Latin American art, culture, and entrepreneurship—art, vendors, artisans, food, and music in the Music Center lobby, timed to bookend the film.

Here's what to expect, based on what Strathmore has confirmed:

• Art and artisan goods from local and regional makers
• Food and music in the lobby before the screening and during intermission
• A Saturday costume detail for kids—those who come in costume get a trick-or-treat bag on the way out
• A market that runs both days, so Sunday visitors get the same access

Kane Shimabukuro, Strathmore's senior community programs manager, is the person behind the market's curation. I wasn't able to secure a quote from him before publication, but the shape of the event is clear: this isn't a lobby with a few tables. It's a deliberate showcase of Latin American makers, staged in the hours when the audience is already there.

The market is indoors. The lobby gets crowded during intermission—arrive early if you want room to browse.

The Partnership

The Hispanic Chamber came in as co-presenter, not as a vendor coordinator. That distinction matters.

Dr. Mauricio Vásquez, the Chamber's executive director, leads an organization that supports Hispanic businesses across Montgomery County through mentoring, access to capital, and technical assistance. Partnering with Strathmore on a market tied to a Pixar film isn't a small thing—it's a mainstream cultural institution handing a platform to the businesses the Chamber represents, in front of an audience that might not otherwise encounter them.

This isn't Strathmore renting out a lobby. It's two institutions building something together, with the Chamber's network doing the curation and Strathmore providing the room and the foot traffic.

Logistics

What: Coco Live-to-Film Concert + Recuerdos: A Latin American Arts Market

When:

• Saturday, Oct. 31 — 3:30 PM screening (market opens at 2:00 PM, runs through intermission and one-hour post-show)
• Sunday, Nov. 1 — 2:00 PM screening (market opens at 12:30 PM, runs through intermission and one-hour post-show)

Where: The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD 20852

Tickets: strathmore.org. Prices range from roughly $39 to $78 depending on seat and platform.

Parking: Complimentary parking for ticketed performances is available in the Grosvenor–Strathmore Metro garage, entrance off Tuckerman Lane. On weekends, parking in the Metro garage is free. Metered parking on Tuckerman Lane is also available and free after 7:00 PM.

Transit: Red Line to Grosvenor–Strathmore. A covered skybridge connects the station to the Music Center's main entrance on Level 4 of the garage—useful if the weather turns.

Accessibility: The Music Center has accessible entrances and elevators, and staff offer assistive listening devices and sign language interpretation. Confirm specific accommodations when you book.

Kids: The Saturday costume detail is the family draw. Wear the costume, get the bag.

Weather

Both the market and the screenings are indoors, so rain doesn't cancel anything. Late October in the DMV swings hard—check the forecast the morning of if you're walking from the Metro, and layer accordingly. The skybridge keeps you dry either way.

Close

Coco is a film about remembering the people who came before you. The market beside it is a room full of people making things in the present, in a tradition that stretches back. For one weekend, Strathmore is holding both.

Coco Live-to-Film and Recuerdos run October 31 and November 1 at the Music Center at Strathmore. Tickets and details at strathmore.org.

The broadcast airs October 28 on Afrobeat Orbit, at 1 PM, and will be archived on Mixcloud in two weeks, with credit to WOWD 94.3 FM / TakomaRadio.org.

#CocoLiveToFilm #RecuerdosMarket #DiadelosMuertos #Strathmore #NorthBethesda #HispanicChamberMontgomeryCounty #CulturalDMV

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