Google marks Matute birth anniversary with doodle
Credit to Author: Alvin I. Dacanay| Date: Fri, 03 Jan 2020 03:02:09 +0000
GOOGLE Philippines unveiled on Friday a doodle of Genoveva Edroza Matute on its search engine to mark the late fictionist and educator’s 105th birth anniversary.
Drawn by Olivia When, the doodle features the author in a dark, floral-printed terno and writing in a library as sunlight pours in through a multipaned window behind her.
In an online note, Google describes her as “a language teacher for over 45 years and is widely known for her short stories, many of which fictionalized scenes from Filipino history.”
“Matute was born in Santa Cruz, Manila, on [Jan. 3,] 1915. She attended the University of Santo Tomas, where she obtained her Ph.D. in 1964, and began teaching at the elementary and high school level before becoming a university professor,” it says.
“Throughout her academic career, she wrote a number of historically based short stories that were included in many textbooks for elementary and high school. Matute wrote in multiple languages: her mother…tongue of Tagalog, her second language English, and also in Filipino when it became the national language,” it adds.
Google notes that “her writings are lauded for their contributions to Tagalog literature and Filipino cultural identity.”
Matute won at the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature — regarded as the Philippines’ equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize — four times, all for her short stories: first prize for “Ang Kuwento ni Mabuti” in 1951, third prize for “Pagbabalik” in 1952, first prize for “Paglalayag sa Puso ng Isang Bata” in 1955 and first prize for “Parusa” in 1961.
Among her writings, Matute is best known for “Ang Kuwento ni Mabuti,” which Google says “is the most anthologized short story in the…Tagalog language and is still read to Filipino school children of all ages.”
She had published several books, including Ako’y Isang Tinig: Katipunan ng mga Piling Maikling Katha at Sanaysay, Ang Kanilang Mga Sugat, Piling Maikling Kuwento: 1939-1992, Babae at Iba Pang Kuwento, Sa Anino ng EDSA at Iba Pang Mga Kuwento and None of the Bitter: The Short Stories and Essays in English.
For her contributions to literature, the Cultural Center of the Philippines bestowed on Matute its Gawad Para sa Sining in 1992, praising her for “elevating the standards of the Tagalog short story and in forging a national identity through the active promotion of Filipino.”
The author taught at the Philippine Normal College (now called Philippine Normal University) for many years before retiring as dean of its Filipino department in 1980.
Matute passed away on March 21, 2009 at age 94.