The Ecuadorian Story of Cantuña and the Devil

Everyone in Quito, Ecuador, knows the story of Cantuà ±a: it is one of the citys most beloved legends. Cantuà ±a was an architect and builder who made a deal with the Devil †¦ but got out of it through trickery. The Atrium of San Francisco Cathedral In downtown Quito, about two blocks away from the center of the old colonial city, is Plaza San Francisco, an airy plaza popular with pigeons, strollers, and those who want a nice outdoor cup of coffee. The western side of the plaza is dominated by the San Francisco Cathedral, a massive stone building and one of the first churches built in Quito. It’s still open and is a popular place for locals to hear mass. There are different areas of the church, including an old convent and an atrium, which is an open area just inside the cathedral. It is the atrium that is central to the story of Cantuà ±a. Cantuà ±a’s Task According to legend, Cantuà ±a was a native builder and architect of great talent. He was hired by the Franciscans sometime during the early colonial era (construction took more than 100 years but the church was completed by 1680) to design and build the atrium. Although he worked diligently, it was slow going and it soon became apparent that he would not finish the project on time. He wished to avoid this, as he would not be paid at all if it were not ready on a certain date (in some versions of the legend, Cantuà ±a would go to jail if the atrium was not completed on time). A Deal With the Devil Just as Cantuà ±a despaired of completing the atrium on time, the Devil appeared in a puff of smoke and offered to make a deal. The Devil would finish the work overnight and the atrium would be ready on time. Cantuà ±a, of course, would part with his soul. The desperate Cantuà ±a accepted the deal. The Devil called in a large band of worker demons and they spent the whole night building the atrium. A Missing Stone Cantuà ±a was pleased with the work but naturally began to regret the deal he had made. While the Devil was not paying attention, Cantuà ±a leaned over and pried loose a stone out of one of the walls and hid it. As dawn broke on the day the atrium was to be given to the Franciscans, the Devil eagerly demanded payment. Cantuà ±a pointed out the missing stone and claimed that since the Devil had not fulfilled his end of the deal, the contract was void. Foiled, the angry Devil disappeared in a puff of smoke. Variations on the Legend There are different versions of the legend that differ in small details. In some versions, Cantuà ±a is the son of the legendary Inca General Rumià ±ahui, who foiled the Spanish conquistadors by hiding the gold of Quito (also allegedly with the help of the Devil). According to another telling of the legend, it was not Cantuà ±a who removed the loose stone, but an angel sent to help him. In yet another version, Cantuà ±a did not hide the stone once he removed it but instead wrote upon it something to the effect of Whoever picks up this stone acknowledges that God is greater than he. Naturally, the Devil would not pick up the stone and was, therefore, prevented from fulfilling the contract. Visiting San Francisco Church The San Francisco Church and convent are open daily. The cathedral itself is free to visit, but there is a nominal fee to see the convent and museum. Fans of colonial art and architecture will not want to miss it. Guides will even point out a wall inside the atrium that is missing a stone: the very spot where Cantuà ±a saved his soul!

Introduction. According To Brian Maskell, ‘Lean Accounting

Introduction: According to Brian Maskell, ‘Lean Accounting is general term used for the changes required to company’s accounting, control measurement, and management processes to support lean manufacturing and lean thinking.’ Lean accounting is used as business strategy for Lean Enterprise. In future, the traditional accounting methods used by most of the companies will not be compatible with the Lean changes that companies making today. Lean Manufacturing focuses on eliminating non-value added processes and waste and try to produce only to satisfy customer demand. There are two main thrusts for Lean Accounting. The first is the application of lean methods to the company s accounting, control, and measurement processes. This is no†¦show more content†¦2. Timely, Plain English Financial Reports. Instead of the traditional, complicated financial reports with meaningless variances, in organization where Lean Accounting is used, they create â€Å"plain English† income statements that everyone in the company can readily understand and use. If you have timely and understandable financial information, the value stream leaders can quickly see what’s happening in their business, make better decisions leading to growth, productivity, and profits. This operational and financial information is also shows the TRUE, bottom line savings and profitability coming from lean improvement. 3. Customer Value. The value stream team members have a clear focus on the value created for the customers. When organization know what the customers truly value, and when they have full control over the processes that create this value – then they can work step-by-step to increase the value while at the same time reducing the costs. Increasing value for the customers leads to customer loyalty, unprecedented growth, and profits. 4. Decision-Making and the Box Score Lean Accounting uses a â€Å"box score† which is a single page report showing the three aspects of a value stream that determine the operational and financial results. These are the operational performance measurements, the capacity usage, and a summary of the income statement. The Box Score is widely used in Lean Accounting. It shows the performance of the value streams; operationalShow MoreRelatedChapter 14 Operational Performance Measurement: Sales and Direct-Cost Variances, and the Role of Nonfinancial Performance Measures26317 Words   |  106 Pagesand Clean Company Readings 14-1: â€Å"Standard Costing Is Alive and Well at Parker Brass† by D. Johnsen and P. Sopariwala, Management Accounting Quarterly (Winter 2000), pp. 12-20. The Brass Products Division of the Parker Hannifin Corporation is a world-class manufacturer of tube and brass fittings, valves, hose, and hose fittings. Despite the introduction of popular new costing systems, the Brass Product Division operates a well-functioning standard costing system. Discussion Questions:

Tuxedo by Tuxedo free essay sample

After almost three years of anticipation and excitement, fans can now finally listen to the entire self-titled debut album â€Å"Tuxedo† by Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One, an album almost eight years in the making.Mayer Hawthorne, a 36 year-old soul singer and producer, and Jake One, a 38 year-old hip-hop producer, first met in 2006 in Seattle.They both exchanged mixtapes and quickly realized that they shared a common love for the old funk and disco of the late 70s and early 80s.Since then, the duo has slowly but surely pieced together a 12 track album that takes you back in time into the world of smooth soul and disco-funk. The album kicks off it’s journey with hip-hop influenced â€Å"Lost Lover†, Jakes synthesizes and strings immediately stand out and Hawthornes vocals set the tone for the rest of the album.Soon after the album starts, â€Å"R U Ready† takes over, and whether you’re ready or not, it instantly gets your body moving and is definitely one of the best cuts on the whole record. We will write a custom essay sample on Tuxedo by Tuxedo or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page â€Å"Watch The Dance† keeps the dance-y vibes alive and soon develops into hip-hop influenced groove â€Å"So Good†, a lyric and melody that put you in a partying kind of mood.The album really only slows down for one track, an Isley Brother worthy ballad called â€Å"Two Wrongs†.It’s lyrics are sung in Mayers classic falsetto and Jake Ones synthesizers are meshed with a classic guitar riff to finish the melody.â€Å"Tuxedo Groove† comes along right away, Jake Ones synth-heavy instrumental that keeps your head bobbing for its two and a half minute duration. â€Å"I Got U† is the album’s stand out love song of sorts.Its vocals have Hawthorne stretching his vocal range to the near breaking point with lyrics that have him happy and glad to be in love.This performance is followed by the latest song on the album, â€Å"The Right Time†, a personal favorite of Mayers and possibly the funkiest track on the record. For their ninth track, Hawthorne and One pull out a powerful horn section and group of back up vocalists to perform an effortlessly funky jam called â€Å"Roll Along†.This is smoothly ended and â€Å"Get U Home† is soon heard succeeding it.Many consider it Mayers best vocal performance and it comes with a magnetizing ending performed by the horn section. To finish off the album, â€Å"Do It† and â€Å"Number One† deliver a one-two knock-out punch.â€Å"Do It† is undoubtedly a centerpiece for the entire record and deserves to be a top 40 hit this summer.Hawthorne and One give it their all on this track nothing else on the album makes you groove the way that â€Å"Do It† does. For the grand and funky finale, â€Å"Number One† leaves you wanting the record to never end.â€Å"Number One† is the ultimate tribute to one of Hawthorne and Ones g-funk and hip-hop heroes, the now deceased Nate Dogg.It is essentially a cover of Nate and Snoop Dogg’s track â€Å"Ain’t No Fun†, just given slightly different lyrics, but the same synth heavy g-funk sound.It was a great way to end the album and leaves you wanting more. From the very first track, it’s easy to see that the albums main theme is dancing, the widely unknown duo keeps your body moving and recreates the disco vibes of the 70s/80s almost perfectly.The album stays true to the sounds of old while also making it sound brand new.This album is perfect for anyone who enjoys soul and or hip-hop, it’s insanely funky and the production is out of this world.I have no regrets purchasing this album and I don’t think you will either.