Camila María Concepción Dies: ‘Gentefied’ Writer And Trans Latina Advocate Was 28

Dino-Ray Ramos
·9 min read

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Gentefied writer, trans Latina activist and storyteller Camila María Concepción died on Friday by suicide. She was 28.

Concepción was from the Inland Empire area and studied English literature at Yale University. She was a writer’s assistant on Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chávez’s Gentefied, which recently made its debut on Netflix. She also worked on Brad Peyton and Aron Eli Coleite’s post-apocalyptic dramedy Daybreak.

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Concepción was a vocal advocate and activist when it came to trans and Latinx representation. She spoke about trans rights at the United States of Women Summit alongside artist Micah Bazant, poet Audrey Kuo and political commentator Sally Kohn. She also worked with artist Favianna Rodriguez and Transparent‘s Jill Soloway for the 5050by2020, an initiative that used the power of intersectionality to help move the needle when it comes to diversity and inclusion in film, TV and art.

Upon hearing the news late on Friday night, when the show premiered, Lemus posted on Instagram: “I’ve been trying my hardest to numb the hurt by focusing on the show and all the love coming in, waiting to get a phone call to let me know this was a sick joke.”

He continued, “When Linda and I met you, we knew you were the most special, raw talent we’d ever f*cking met. We knew you were going to be huge. You were going to be bigger than just our writer’s assistant.” He ended by saying, “Pero te lo juro que we’ll make every minute from now on count in your honor. Siempre. Rest in Power. Rest In Peace. Te amo.”

Chavez also responded to the news and honored Concepción. “My love, you were brilliant. You were powerful,” she said. “You were a light. A brilliant light that struggled to shine in the midst of the darkness in this world. But I saw you, girl. I f*cking saw you from the moment I laid eyes on you. I knew you were f*cking magic and I wanted the world to devour your magnificence the way you deserved.

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“Baby, you were going to have a show on HBO,” she added. “I needed that show. I needed your voice. Your story. Your wisdom. Your f*cking fierce wit and fearless IDGAF fervor. You should be here.”

Aaliyah Williams, executive producer of Gentefied, honored Concepción on Instagram as well, saying, “I’ll see you next lifetime, my love. You are Free!!!”

Deadline received a statement from the Gentefied family, which read: “We are heartbroken by the loss of Camila Concepción. She was hired as our writer’s assistant on Gentefied but quickly made her way into our hearts as a sister, writer and friend.”

The statement added: “She co-wrote episode 109 ‘Protest Tacos’ and we were so blown away by her amazing talent and unique voice. She was definitely a force to be reckoned with and we are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our brightest stars.”

Netflix also released a statement, saying: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic passing of Camila Concepción. Camila was a talented writer with a passion for storytelling, lifting up underrepresented voices, and fighting for representation in front of and behind the camera. She made bold and critical contributions to our industry, most recently through her incredible writing on Gentefied, and her legacy will live on through her work. Our thoughts are with her family and friends in this time of loss.”

Said a spokesperson from UTA, which represented her: “Camila was a one of a kind soul and we were so lucky to have worked with her. She was a fierce advocate for all she believed in and was taken away from us way too soon. She had many stories left to tell and we will continue to work on her behalf to ensure that those stories are shared with the rest of the world.”

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I’ve been trying to avoid writing this post all day. Late last night the Gentefied family learned that we lost one of the brightest souls, not only on this show, but that I’ve ever met in my life. I’ve been trying my hardest to numb the hurt by focusing on the show and all the love coming in, waiting to get a phone call to let me know this was a sick joke. Camila, Im so mad at you right now. I’m so fucking pissed because I kept waiting to hear back about that coffee. I was excited to see what crazy outfit you were going to wear to the premiere. I’m mad that I don’t get to hear you ramble on and on about what you thought of your first episode of television. What I’m sure would be mostly talking about how fucking great you are. And you would be absolutely right. When Linda and I met you, we knew you were the most special, raw talent we’d ever fucking met. We knew you were going to be huge. You were going to be bigger than just our writer’s assistant. I’m so fucking mad at you because I’m one of your million adoring fans and I was going to make it my personal mission to make sure the fucking world knew your name. I was so excited thinking about being in the room again with you and being annoyed at how many fucking pictures you would ask me to take of you because you knew my conceited ass also wanted to get the best shot that made you look amazing. Mija, I knew just an inkling of the pain you were feeling and the hurt you had gone through. You inspired me every day with your perseverance and your ability to shorten very fucking word to fit into your schedule. Mija, I hope you’re at peace now. I’ll get over my anger. I’m not ready yet. Maybe it’s just my way of holding onto just a bit of the flame that made you so incredibly bright. The past 24 hours were supposed to be for all of us. Pero te lo juro que we’ll make every minute from now on count in your honor. Siempre. Rest in Power. Rest In Peace. Te amo. Your big brother, Marvinganoosh.

A post shared by Marvin Lemus (@elmarvinlemus) on Feb 22, 2020 at 8:12pm PST

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Camila, mi amor, I can't seem to write these words without bursting into tears. I can't believe I'm writing these words at all. Because you're supposed to be here, Camila. You were supposed to be there Thursday and you weren't. And I texted you because I was worried. Because you were missing. A big part of this dream was missing and i should have known… I should have listened to that voice inside that said something was wrong… My love, you were brilliant. You were powerful. You were a creator Marvin and I were ready to champion to the ends of the earth. The first time you sat in that room with us a year and a half ago you were magnetic. You told story like you were spinning cotton candy. The sweetness enveloping the jagged edges of a woman looking to heal. My girl from El Monte who went to Yale who loved her girl from Norwalk who went to Stanford. And we trauma-bonded over being the only ones in a sea of whiteness. Over leaving our hoods and doing better and doing right by our mamis. You were an angel God sent me. I'll never forget the first text you sent me filled with so much love, respect, and adoration. You said you looked up to me but in words that felt like they were coming from the universe itself because you always seemed to send them when I needed them most. When I was struggling with making the show and was having a hard time believing in myself. You were this angel that would pop into my messages or into my office and say exactly what I needed to hear… and did I ever thank you for that? I thought I did but now I can't remember. And fuck I hope I did. You were a light. A brilliant light that struggled to shine in the midst of the darkness in this world. But I saw you, girl. I fucking saw you from the moment I laid eyes on you. I knew you were fucking magic and I wanted the world to devour your magnificence the way you deserved. Baby, you were going to have a show on HBO. I needed that show. I needed your voice. Your story. Your wisdom. Your fucking fierce wit and fearless IDGAF fervor. You should be here.

A post shared by Linda Yvette Chávez (@lindayvettechavez) on Feb 22, 2020 at 11:08pm PST

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@camilamariaconcepcion I love you. Pic 1: How I will always remember you. Fine as hell and achieving your dreams. Pic 2: How you always delighted me with your very judgemental sarcasm which is exactly what our @gentefied writers room needed a healthy dose of. I’ll see you next lifetime, my love. You are Free!!!

A post shared by Aaliyah Williams (@theliyah) on Feb 23, 2020 at 10:03pm PST

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