this was a document prepared by special genealogists which certified that the holder had no base blood; originally, in Spain, these documents were designed to guarantee that the person did not have any Jewish, Muslim, or heretic ancestors as well as anyone found guilty of treason or exercising base professions; any one of these taints was considered dishonorable; in the Latin American context, the purity of blood was also racialized by certifying the lack of indigenous or African blood
defined by Sonya Lipsett-Rivera