LOOK: Filipino writer Paz Marquez Benitez is featured as Google Doodle

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino writer Paz Marquez Benitez is featured in a Google Doodle to celebrate her 129th birth anniversary.

The doodle shows Benitez against a backdrop of stars – a callback to her most famous work, “Dead Stars,” which is the first-ever Filipino modern short story in English.

Written in 1925, the story follows a bachelor, Alfredo Salazar, who finds his passion for his fiancée Esperanza fading as he falls in love with a young woman named Julia Salas. 

While essentially a love story, it is also considered an allegory criticizing the effects of American imperialism on the Philippines, and how it comes at the cost of Filipino heritage.

Aside from being a writer, Benitez was also a professor at the University of the Philippines, retiring in 1951. She also played a role in pushing for education for women, founding what is now the Philippine Women’s University.

The doodle can be viewed of March 3 on google.com. – Rappler.com