The New Mexican alabado is a folk poem/canticle has been used by the Fraternidad Piadosa de Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno, more commonly known as the Penitentes, since the colonization of New Mexico. These Spanish hymns were once intimately connected to most communities' spiritual activities. But, as modern New Mexico culture transforms, the alabados are being lost from the repertoire of New Mexican folklore.