Ballet dancers watch a classmate as they practice for a competition between ballet schools at the National Superior Ballet School in Lima, Peru on Aug. 28. Nearly 100 girls and boys from Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, France and Peru are submitting themselves to a week-long competition hoping to win medals from Peru's national ballet school, and perhaps a grant to study in Miami.

A young ballet dancer warms-up before performing in a competition between ballet schools at the National Museum in Lima, Peru on Sept. 3.

Ballet dancers prepare backstage for a competition between ballet schools at the National Museum in Lima, Peru on Sept. 3.

A dancer from Venezuela's Nueva Era del Ballet school practices in the lobby of the National Museum for a competition between ballet schools in Lima, Peru on Sept. 3.

Ballet dancers practice for a competition between ballet schools on the stage at the National Museum in Lima, Peru on Sept. 3.

Ballet dancers from Venezuela's Nueva Era del Ballet school sit in the National Museum as they watch others practice for a competition between ballet schools in Lima, Peru on Sept. 3.

Two men plant rosebushes in memory of the victims of the two-decade fight between the military and Shining Path rebels, at a memorial in Lima, Peru, on Aug. 28. Between 1980 and 2000 tens of thousands of Peruvians died during the Maoist-inspired Shining Path insurgency.

A relative of victims murdered during the guerrilla war in the Andes in the 80s and 90s, attends a commemorative ceremony in downtown Lima on Aug. 28. Peruvians affected by the war held a ceremony and marched in the capital Lima on the 9th anniversary of the adoption of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report, to urge the government to set aside state cash to compensate victims of political violence committed in the 1980s and 1990s.

A woman holds a photo of her dead son during a memorial honoring the victims of the two-decade fight between the military and Shining Path rebels in Lima, Peru, on Aug. 28. Between 1980 and 2000, tens of thousands of Peruvians died during the Maoist-inspired Shining Path insurgency.

Ashaninkas Indians attend a memorial honoring the victims of the two-decade fight between the military and Shining Path rebels in Lima, Peru, on Aug. 28. Between 1980 and 2000 tens of thousands of Peruvians died during the Maoist-inspired Shining Path insurgency.

Inmates prepare to parade the courtyard of a pavilion at the Lurigancho prison on July 26, 2012.

Inmates and police sing the national anthem as they watch a parade to celebrate Peru's Independence at the Lurigancho prison on July 26.

Inmates march to celebrate Peru's Independence on July 26.

An inmate decorates the fence of Lurigancho prison during Independence celebrations on July 26.

Inmates weave bracelets in their rooms on July 26.

An indigenous from Peru's Andean region, left, trades punches with a woman from the jungle region during the Mamachas Olympic Games in Lima, Peru on July 13, 2012.

An indigenous from Peru's Andean region, known as

An indigenous from Peru's jungle region lifts weights made from sticks and bananas.

A Peruvian chef tosses a fish to a pelican at a pier in Chorrillos, Peru, on May 18.

A Peruvian chef hand-feeds a fish to a young pelican at a pier in Chorrillos, Peru, on May 18.

Marathon runner Gladys Tejeda, the first Peruvian athlete who qualified for the 2012 London Olympic Games, runs during her training in the Andean province of Junin on Monday. A private company will take Tejeda's mother Marcelina Pucuhuaranga, 69, to London as part of the "Thank you Mom" program. For Pucuhuaranga, who received her first passport, it will be the first time travelling out of Peru. The program will take about 120 mothers of different athletes around the world to attend the games. Tejeda, the youngest of nine children, returned to her hometown to visit her mother and to focus on training where she will run more than 20 km every day in the highlands (over 4,105 meters above sea level).

Gladys Tejeda (C), the first Peruvian athlete who qualified for the 2012 London Olympic Games, prepares a typical Pachamanca dish with her sister Rosario (L) and her sister-in-law Carmen for a Mother's Day celebration at their home in the Andean province of Junin.

Gladys Tejeda and her mother Marcelina Pucuhuaranga give a toast at their home in the Andean province of Junin.