This is the first major study by a Hispano from New Mexico with intergenerational ties to the Penitentes--the deeply religious group called Hermanos de la Luz, Brothers of the Light. It also ties the santero folk art of New Mexico, the Penitente Brotherhood, and the Penitente religious hymns, alabados, together. De Aragón asserts that one cannot truly function without all three and herein lies the devotional beauty that has been passed down for generations in Spanish folk tradition.

A Penitente Bibliography is the definitive reference work on the Brotherhood in Hispanic northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Based on research begun in the late 1960s, it is the companion supplement to Marta Weigle's revised 1971 dissertation, Brothers of Light, Brothers of Blood: The Penitentes of the Southwest. The 1233 annotated entries were assembled over five years through August 1975. They are divided into five sections entitled Documents; General and Comparative References; Books and Other Published Materials; Anonymous Newspaper Items; and Dissertations, Theses, Student Papers, and Unpublished Manuscripts. This compilation remains an important resource for anyone working in Southwest studies, religion, or folklore.

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.