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The story of Cantuña is a popular legend in Quito, and is part of the culture, identity and tradition of Ecuador. Legend tells the story of an architect and builder who made a deal with the devil.
About two blocks from the center of Quito is the Plaza de San Francisco, a popular square, wide and well lit, with pigeons and strollers, visited by anyone who wants to have a good cup of coffee in the open air. The western side of the plaza is occupied by the beautiful San Francisco Cathedral, a huge stone building and one of the first churches built in Quito. A popular site still today for the locals to go to mass. Inside the cathedral there is a convent and an atrium, precisely the reason for the history of Cantuña.
The legend
Legend has it that Cantuña was a talented native builder and architect. He was hired by the Franciscans at the dawn of the colonial era (the construction of the cathedral took more than 100 years and was completed in 1680) to design and build the atrium. Although he worked diligently, progress was slow and it soon became apparent that he would not finish the project on time. Cantuña wanted to finish the work as agreed, since they would not pay him anything if the project was not ready on the agreed date. In some versions of the legend it is even stated that Cantuña would go to jail if the atrium was not completed on time.
Just when Cantuña was beginning to despair as he saw that the deadline for delivering the atrium was coming to an end and he would not be able to finish it on time, the devil suddenly appeared in a cloud of smoke and offered him a deal. The devil would finish the job overnight and the atrium would be ready on time. In exchange, Cantuña would give him his soul. Cantuña, in his despair, accepted the deal and the devil called a large gang of demon workers who spent the whole night building the atrium.
Cantuña was pleased with the work that El Diablo was doing, but began to regret the deal he had made. When the devil wasn’t paying attention, Cantuña leaned over, pulled a stone out of one of the walls, and hid it. At dawn the next day, the time agreed with the Franciscans to hand over the atrium, the Devil angrily demanded payment from him. Cantuña showed him that a stone was missing and therefore, since the Devil had not fully complied with his part of the pact, the contract was void. Deceiving and enraged, the devil disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Other versions
Other versions of the legend differ in some details. In some versions Cantuña is the son of Rumiñahui, a legendary Inca commander who deceived the Spanish conquistadors and managed to hide Quito’s gold (also, supposedly, with the help of the devil). According to another version of the legend, it was not Cantuña who removed the stone, but an angel sent to help him. And in another version, Cantuña did not hide the stone once he took it out, but he wrote the following on it: “he who picks up this stone recognizes that God is greater than him.” Logically, the devil would not pick up the stone and therefore would be prevented from fulfilling the contract.
Fountain
Jose Gabriel Navarro. Contributions to the History of Art in Ecuador . Virtual Library Miguel de Cervantes.
