Google celebrated the 105th birthday of the multilingual Filipino writer and academic Genoveva Matute through a doodle on its January 3, 2020 home page.
Google honored Matute with an illustration by artist Olivia When, lauding her contributions to Tagalog literature and Filipino cultural identity.
“Her writings are lauded for their contributions to Tagalog literature and Filipino cultural identity. Widely considered to be her most famous work, “Ang Kuwento ni Mabuti” (“The Story of Mabuti”) is the most anthologized short story in the native Tagalog language and is still read to Filipino school children of all ages,” said Google in a statement.
Matute won four Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for her short stories, one of which was “Ang Kuwento ni Mabuti.”
Matute was the first woman to be given what is touted as the most prestigious literary award in the country.
Born in Santa Cruz, Manila, on January 3, 1915, Matute attended the University of Santo Tomas (UST) where she obtained her PhD in 1964. There she taught elementary and high school levels before she became a university professor.
Matute was a language teacher for more than 45 years, known for her short stories that depict scenes from Filipino history.
Matute wrote historically-based short stories, many of which were included in elementary and high school textbooks.
In 1980, she retired as the Dean of the Filipino Department at Philippine Normal College, which is now the Philippine Normal University (PNU).