Like so many folk customs the Tome (New Mexico) Passion Play was passed along orally from generation to generation for nearly two hundred years. The same drama that Fray Francisco Domingues mentioned in 1776 was still being performed in 1947 when it was filmed by a local resident. It was at this time that Fred Landavazo, Edwin Berry and Juan Estevan Zamora realized that the drama, already threatened by a modern, disinterested world, should be preserved in a more permanent form. Through their efforts a script was produced before the final performance of the play in 1955. For the first time, this important religious and historical folk document is available in its original from with translations and annotation by Fr. Thomas Steele. Thomas J. Steele, S.J., a Jesuit priest, is a teacher and authority on the religious folk art of New Mexico.

The sacred Spanish-language hymns known as alabados originated in colonial New Spain in the eighteenth century. The Alabados of New Mexico includes a selection of the most beloved and most often sung hymns, in English and Spanish, as well as a basic explanation of the alabado. Introductory material discusses the sources of alabados and the form's origin in late medieval spirituality. Thomas Steele defines terms and discusses the alabado as poetry, music, and oral tradition. The 126 bilingual alabados are organized by theme, including the Christ child and holy family, passion narratives, sacraments, and prayers, etc. Steele includes complete texts and extensive commentaries. He has devoted decades to collecting and studying New Mexico's alabados and his annotations are enriched by his access to many versions of each hymn.