Google Doodle features Filipino writer Paz Marquez-Benitez on her 129th birthday. (Photo courtesy of Google Doodle)
MANILA, Philippines — Google honored Filipino writer Paz Marquez Benitez on Friday in remembrance of her 129th birthday and contribution to Philippine literature.
Benitez was doodled, holding a book with a purple background surrounded by stars.
She was an editor and teacher known for her first modern Philippine short story in English, “Dead Stars.”
Dead Stars is about an old bachelor Alfredo Salazar who is about to get married to his fiancée Esperanza, but as his feelings fade, he finds himself attracted to another woman named Julia Salas.
Published in the Philippines Herald, Dead Star is also an allegory criticizing the effects of American imperialism and occupation in the society.
Aside from this, Benitez was a professor at the University of the Philippines until 1951 and helped found Philippine Women’s University. She was also an editor for the Philippine Education Magazine and the Women’s Home Journal.
Benitez was born in Lucena, Quezon, on March 3, 1894 and died on November 10, 1983
Her doodle can be viewed at google.com.