In the Zapotec communities of the Valley of Oaxaca, guelaguetza names a system of mutual help among friends and relatives. According to an article in a journal of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), help received “es devuelta en una ocasión similar y en una misma cantidad,” is returned on a similar occasion and in the same amount.
In Cuilapan, according to a study the article cites, the guelaguetza takes the form of loans of goods such as bread, maize, fowl or mezcal for the fiestas of the mayordomía, for baptisms and for weddings. Looser help, such as a hand with the preparations, is not returned as strictly.