PENITENTE MORADA
Abiquiu, New Mexico
Los Hermanos de la Fraternidad Piadosa de Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno (in Spanish: "The Brothers of the Pious Fraternity of Our Father Jesus the Nazarene", also known as Los Penitentes, Los Hermanos, and the Penitente Brotherhood) is a lay confraternity of Roman Catholic men very active in Northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. The men in these communities come together in the absence of a priest for the purpose of prayer, and to offer spiritual and social aid to the community. They gather in meeting houses known as moradas. Los Penitentes are perhaps best known for their songs of worship, called alabados, and for their ascetic practices, which include self-flagellation in private ceremonies during Lent, and processions during Holy Week which end with the re-enactment of Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday.
They're very protective of their religious beliefs and practices. My friends and I were ushered off the property at shotgun point.