Key Bridge Stories

The collapse of the bridge crippled more than “15,000 workers whose lives are tied to that port of Baltimore, along with another 140,000 workers whose jobs have also been affected,” according to the Real News Network’s Chief Editor, Maximillian Alvarez.

Maria Gabriela Aldana, director of Art of Solidarity, was contracted by the Baltimore Museum of Industry (BMI) to document, archive, and reflect on what the collapse of the Key Bridge has meant to our community. From June 2024 to March 2025, Aldana, initiated relationships with the people most impacted by the collapse of the Key Bridge. "Echoes from the Key Bridge" are 32 oral history stories of firsthand accounts told by Port workers, first responders, and their communities.

Aldana has sat down with dozens of community members from Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Glen Burnie, and Annapolis to record their stories in English and Spanish. "The importance of partnerships, urgency during crisis, and labor unseen,” are the key themes of this collection, says Aldana, and "the connections between racial and ethnic histories of Baltimore as a Port city that has been drawing people of various backgrounds for generations." Listen to clips on WYPR here.

Programming included a panel discussion a the BMI, lectures at Towson University, Morgan State University, University of Texas, Austin, Latino Provider's Network, Goucher College, and the Baltimore Ethical Society.

The project is featured on:
Baltimore Beat- March 2025
WYPR- March 2025
Baltimore Magazine- March 2025
Somos Baltimore Latino- February 2025
WYPR- January 2025
the Baltimore Banner - December 2024
WBAL-TV- December 2024
WJZ- December 2024
Baltimore Fishbowl- November 2024
Baltimore Sun- September 2024

We honor the invisible and untold stories of workers. This project is dedicated the families of the lives lost on March 26, 2024:

Carlos Daniel Hernández, 24
Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26
Alejandro Hernández Fuentes, 35
Jose Mynor Lopez, 37
Maynor Yasir Suazo Sandoval, 38
Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, 49

Special thanks to Baltimore City Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, Immigration Affairs of Baltimore County, Wendell Shannon Supreme, Scott Ambrose, Kap2ure Film Studios, and Port America Chesapeake for your partnership.

Contact maria@artofsolidarity.org to listen to clips from the collection or collaborate on a project or public program.

(Photo by Maggi Marzolf, BMI Archivist Manager)