HARLINGEN — Mariana with her voice musical and clear spoke quietly and without reservation about her sudden success for a short film.

“I really wasn’t expecting it,” said Mariana Donnelly, 12, a sixth grader at Memorial Middle School. Mariana, who goes by the stage name “That’s so Mariana” has just won Best Performance for a short film at the Los Angeles Web Series Festival, more commonly known as the LA Web Fest.

The film “Black and White Canvas” by director Luis Antonio Rodriguez tells the story about a biracial girl struggling with systemic racism. Mariana was able to use her own experiences to build a convincing character.

“I have people calling me names and making racist jokes when it’s not really funny,” said Mariana, who is of African American, Irish and Liberian heritage.

In th

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