"The Green Cross of San Francisco's Wall" - "La Cruz Verde de la Muralla de San Francisco"

 

👀Who do not like stories or Legends?👀

Most of people really likes hear these interesting and sometimes impossible things that happened many years ago, may be at the time when they were not born and for that reason these things are unbelievable. However, these kind of stories cause curiosity, catch the attention of people and also they are conducive to promoting awareness of the history which exists besides it, that is the case of many places in our country, they have many things to tell us.

Ecuador has magic, its mysteries and incredible legends are a treasure. For generations, many stories, legends and tales are still alive because each place save memories. The only fact that prevent those places tell something is people who do not want to continue talking about these awesome stories. I remembered some interesting legends that my grandparents told me when I was a child and these stories are not well known.

For instance, in this occasion I would like to write about “La Cruz Verde de la Muralla de San Francisco” – “The green cross of San Francisco’s Wall”.

There were in colonial times, two Franciscans who went out at night to the San Roque neighborhood, sang a lot of “pasillos” but they escaped to their convent. The neighbors who listened to them believed that they were souls in pain because single women of the area claimed to have seen the singers surrounded by flames.

After many days of serenades and songs, a group of young people from the neighborhood, jealous because the girls were crazy about the incredible singing of the monks, decided to catch the singers whom they managed to stop at the corner of San Buenaventura street and San Francisco’s Wall street, currently they are Bolívar and Imbabura streets respectively.

After several unsuccessful attempts, San Roque’s neighbors wanted to teach them a lesson. So, the religious invoked the souls of Purgatory and they caused such fear in their captors that they immediately released them. This action, however, did not save the monks from also receiving punishment. The souls that came to their aid turned towards them, brought their faces closer to their own and removed their black veils to show them their skeletal faces and indicating to the singers that they should return to their convent and stop doing their sins.

Finally, the two Franciscans were terrified and returned to the convent. Then, they convinced their family, who according to the story had a lot of money, to build the green cross that until now can be seen in this corner of the historic downtown, also known as "Corner of the Souls". That will be our next legend "La esquina de las almas" 

See you soon!

By: Emily Alejandra Pala Z.

Do you know this legend? Do you like it?
Did you see “La Cruz Verde” in the historic downtown?