Rosa Sevilla de Alvero (4 March 1879 – 11 May 1954) was a Filipino activist, educator, and journalist who advocated for

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

in the Philippines.

Biography

Sevilla was born on March 4, 1879 in Tondo,

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

to Ambrosio Sevilla, a sergeant of the Spanish Army, and Silvina Tolentino y Rafael, a relative of revolutionary and playwright Aurelio Tolentino. She grew up with Tolentino her aunt who often invited nationalists and intellectuals who advocated against what they call "colonial education" into their home. She studied to be a teacher, then graduated “maestra superior” at

Assumption College Assumption College may refer to these educational institutions: Australia * Assumption College, Kilmore, Victoria * Assumption College, Warwick, Queensland Canada * Assumption University (Windsor, Ontario) (formerly Assumption College) * Assumpt ...

. She later became the first female Dean of the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...

, and established the Instituto de Mujeres (now Rosa Sevilla Memorial School) on July 15, 1900. Sevilla was a part of the editorial staff for Antonio Luna's newspaper, ''La Independencia'' and also wrote Spanish language works such as ''La Mejor'', ''El Sueno del Poeta'', and ''Prisonera de Amor''. During the early years of the American colonial period, she founded the Instituto de Mujeres in Manila at age 21, which became one of the first women's schools in the Philippines. The institute provided a curriculum to women that would help them prepare "to serve both God and country" giving them an alternative to American-run schools which mostly forbade the teaching of religion, as well as language subjects on Spanish and indigenous languages. Later, in her mid-30s, she led a movement in 1916 for Filipino women to secure the right to vote, founding the Liga Nacional de Damas Filipinas. It was in 1937 when women were able to gain the right after a referendum. Sevilla had also worked in the field of journalism, in which she became the editor for Spanish daily ''

La Vanguardia ' (; , Spanish for "The Vanguard") is a Spanish daily newspaper, founded in 1881. It is printed in Spanish and, since 3 May 2011, also in Catalan (Spanish copy is automatically translated into Catalan). It has its headquarters in Barcelona and i ...

'', and established ''The Woman's Outlook'', a magazine published by the General Federation of Women's Clubs of the Philippines. She died on May 11, 1954, at 75 years old.

Personal life

She was married to Emilio Alvero, an artist.

Awards

Presidential Medal of Merit President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

: 4 July 1948 * Queen

Isabella II of Spain Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

Award: 1948 :source:

Tribute

On March 4, 2021,

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

celebrated her 142nd birthday with a Google Doodle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sevilla, Rosa 1879 births 1954 deaths Filipino women's rights activists People from Tondo, Manila People of Spanish colonial Philippines Tagalog people Filipino educators Filipino women journalists Spanish-language writers of the Philippines Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Merit (Philippines)