"At the heart of good history is good
storytelling"
-Stephen Schiff
For this post, we will be located
in the center of Quito, in front of “La Compañía” church, there is the
Cornejo-Cevallos house on the corner of García Moreno and Sucre streets.
To be exact, the main reason is because one of the "putis" which is a kind of cherubim in Greek mythology, related to the goddess Aphrodite. That adorn the facade, located over the last window, which is popularly known as "little Mandingo angel", it shows an upright virile member that has caused a series of stories. I am going to tell you three of them:
1. When they rebuilt the facade of the house, which was very
deteriorated, they were liberal against the way of acting of the religious
communities, especially their Jesuit neighbors who had angels on the facade of
the church with the hearts of Jesus and Mary, as an insult, they put a penis in
one of the "putis" to point at them and their temple.
2. When the house was acquired by some Lebanese owners, who sold
silk fabrics there, they ordered to place one of these angels the virile
member, which within their culture and religiosity symbolizes fertility and
prosperity in all aspects. Indeed, it is said that a lady who prays devoutly at
her feet, asks her to have a child she will become pregnant, and he will make
her dream come true.
3. Likewise, it is said that the building belonged to a Jewish
family, and when the Municipality began the restoration of the Historic Center,
they asked the owner of the house to do the same. The family realized that
hiring a professional restorer was not cheap at all and decided to use ordinary
bricklayers to touch up the facade. As the work was delayed, the owners did not
want to pay the masons for another week of work, and only one, angry, decided
with a little mischief to place a large and notorious penis in the last
“putis”.
Hope you enjoy this legend!
Have you been there?
Have you heard one of these stories?
Probably, do you know another reason of this legend?
Thanks for sharing this information, I enjoyed it. I have not known about this legend. I have been there, but to be honest, I have never realized that kind of sculpture exists on the top of that window. I consider that house as a patrimonial house, and I think there are stores on the first floor. I agree with the second reason that you shared related to this polemic sculpture. I think people who lived during that period of time believed a lot in God and angels. That's why to have a healthy baby or just get one. They considered it as a symbol of protection for the pregnant lady and her family.
ResponderEliminarThe most interesting thing that can be seen from the street is the putto, that nude chubby child figure. I know that in the Baroque period of art, the putto was often used in a religious context. in Art through the ages, the putto has been a curious little figure, often reflecting philosophy, theology and literature of the time. Even Putti were secular, sometimes profane and definitely not part of the nine choirs of angels. This information was so interesting. Thank you Emy =)
ResponderEliminar