Recording Racial Demographics in the 1800s

Hi, everyone!
I'm new here at Nuestros Ranchos and want to say thank you to everyone for sharing what you have. In just a few short weeks, I have learned tons and tons about my ancestry!!!

Here is a general question about the Catholic Church documents I hope that someone can answer. So far, I have noticed this in the early to mid-1800s in Zacoalco de Torres, Jalisco. Have you seen how sometimes in the margin under the person's name who is baptized or married, it says V or vecinos, or Y or Ydos or Yndios?

I wonder if that was how they identified the Native Americans and the non-Native Americans. Does anyone have any knowledge about this practice? If that is their ethnicity they were noting in the margins, does anyone know how they defined the Indian ethnicity?

For that matter, where can I get information on interracial marriages in Mexico? I was told one of my ancestors could not marry the mother of his child because he was Indian and she was not. Yet, I know in the beginning, it was encouraged to inter-marry.

Thank you for any information you can provide!

--Natalie Estrada
natcruz1@aol.com