Today marks the 125th Independence Day of the Philippines from Spanish colonization. As part of the commemoration, Google lets you revisit Filipino-themed Google Doodles that explored the different facets of the country’s culture, from important historical heroes and figures to local cultural icons, and the beautiful sights in the country.
To get in the Pinoy Pride spirit this Independence Day, here are five Google Doodles worth revisiting:
Click the subheads to check out the previously released Google Doodles.
1. Jose Rizal’s 158th birthday
Google paid tribute to Dr. Jose Rizal back in 2019 with a Doodle that put the hero’s visage front and center, flanked by “Google” stylized similarly to the famous original cover of Noli Me Tangere, one of his two masterpiece novels, both of which are included at the bottom of the illustration.
As an added touch, the opening passages of the novel are written in the artwork’s background, while the quill and the magnifying glass bordering it make reference to Rizal’s professions as a writer and ophthalmologist.
2. The Adobo Doodle
To celebrate Filipino culture is also to celebrate its food, which is why Google put everyone’s favorite adobo front and center earlier this year. The mouthwatering illustration by Filipino-American Google artist Anthony Irwin calls back to the savory goodness of adobo, which is always enjoyed in different and unique ways among different cooks, households, and restaurants.
Undoubtedly Filipino elements line this artwork, from the Pinoy kids on the side and the wooden utensils, while the ingredients, vegetables and meats, make up the core of the Doodle.
3. The legendary Las Piñas Bamboo Organ
This 2019 Doodle commemorating the 195th anniversary of the creation of the oldest, largest, and only bamboo pipe organ in the whole world brought immense pride to the Philippines. The Doodle is simple and powerful: the Gs, L, and E of Google were rendered in bamboo pipes, while the two Os are signified by the full organ. If you haven’t visited this at the St. Joseph Parish Church in Las Piñas, this is your sign to do it now.
4. The colorful Regatta de Zamboanga
Google’s Doodle celebrating the Regatta, a fluvial race held every October, displayed dazzling vintas. But it’s everything that the Regatta really is, and there’s just nothing like it.
5. Rosa Sevilla de Alvero’s 142nd Birthday
Rsa Rosa Sevilla de Alvero, a journalist, educator, and activist widely considered one of the most influential suffragists in Filipino history.
As a child, she was sent to live with her aunt, an educator who hosted Filipino patriots and intellectuals at her home. Sevilla often eavesdropped on their conversations about battling educational colonialism—revolutionary discussions that helped mold her beliefs. At just 21 years old, Alvero founded the Instituto de Mujeres (“Women’s Institute”) of Manila, one of the first schools for women in Filipino history.
The institute became a hotbed for progress under Sevilla’s leadership, educating women on topics such as suffrage, vocation, and Tagalog. She also collaborated with notable Filipino Tagalog poets to present the first balagtasan (a debate held in poetic verse), which sparked a movement for Tagalog to become the national language. With her institution in good hands, Sevilla left Manila in 1916 to rally women across the country in her fight for suffrage, later founding the Liga Nacional de Damas Filipinas (“National League of Filipino Women”) to support her cause.
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