Google fetes Filipina author Genoveva Matute with doodle on 105th birthday

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 3)— Google honored Filipina author Genoveva Edroza Matute with a doodle, as the award-winning author marked her 105th birth anniversary.

A doodle of Matute scribbling with her feather quill pen— in what appears to be a library setting— was displayed on the Google homepage on Friday.

The author, born in 1915, was known for her iconic short stories— many of which “fictionalized scenes” from Philippine history.

Matute further cemented her mark in Philippine literature as she won the first ever Palanca Award for Short Story in Filipino in 1951 for “Ang Kuwento ni Mabuti.” She was also the First Filipina to win the prestigious award.

Arguably her most famous work, “Ang Kuwento ni Mabuti”, according to Google’s blog, is the most anthologized short story in the native Tagalog language and is "still read to Filipino school children of all ages.”

Matute in 1992 also received the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Gawad Para Sa Sining for her “valuable contributions” in Philippine literature— particularly in crafting a solid national identity through her works.

Aside from her writings, Matute was likewise known as a devoted educator and academic. She worked as a teacher and professor for over 40 years, having served as the head of the Filipino department at the Philippine Normal College (now Philippine Normal University).

Her other works include “Ang Kanilang Mga Sugat”, “Sa Anino ng EDSA at Iba Pang Mga Kuwento,” “Walong Taong Gulang,” and “Paglalayag sa Puso ng Isang Bata.”