In this January 29, 2017 photo, dancers get ready near Lake Titicaca prior to their performance at Virgin of Candelaria celebrations in Puno, Peru. The festivities start this week. The Feast in honor of Virgin of Candelaria, patron of the city of Puno, is made in the first fortnight of February each year, and represents the largest and most important cultural event, musical and dancing by Peru, and one of the three most significant in South America along with Carnival in Rio de Janeiro and the Carnaval de Oruro, in the amount of symbols and artistic and cultural manifestations of the cultures themselves Quechua, Aymara and mixed by Highlands Andean and the volume of people directly and indirectly involved in its realization. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)





In this January 29, 2017 photo, dancers perform during Virgin of Candelaria celebrations in downtown Puno, Peru. The annual celebration is a rare moment of national focus on an indigenous-dominated village culture in Peru. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)





In this January 29, 2017 photo, dancers put on their costumes near the shore of Lake Titicaca prior to their performance for Virgin of Candelaria celebrations in Puno, Peru. Some competing groups wear shoes made with alpaca skin, collars hung with ears of corn and hats adorned with old coins or the bright-colored feathers of Amazonian birds. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)





In this January 29, 2017 photo, dancers take selfies after performing during Virgin of Candelaria celebrations in Puno, Peru. The festival of La Candelaria has been celebrated in Puno every year since the 18th century. UNESCO declared the festival a cultural landmark in 2015. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)





In this January 29, 2017 photo, dancers eat lunch after performing during Virgin of Candelaria celebrations in Puno, Peru. In addition to adults, young children dance with their families in groups of as many as 400 people, including musicians who play flutes and other traditional instruments. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)





In this January 29, 2017 photo, dancers wait their turn to perform during Virgin of Candelaria celebrations in Puno, Peru. Anthropologist Henry Flores, who has studied indigenous dances in the town of Puno, said “There’s always been a lack of respect for the countryside. But when the villagers participate, they are saying, “I am present’ and the people from the city are only spectators”. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)





In this January 29, 2017 photo, dancers perform during Virgin of Candelaria celebrations in downtown Puno, Peru. “We have danced this way since the time of our grandparents”, said 75 year-old Martin Mamani, who had made the trek from the village of Esmeralda. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)





In this January 29, 2017 photo, dancers perform during Virgin of Candelaria celebrations in Puno, Peru. Some dances gesture toward everyday village activities such as grazing llamas or shearing animals. Others depict the Spanish conquest or the conscription of villagers as soldiers. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)





In this January 29, 2017 photo, musicians perform for dancers on the shores of Lake Titicaca, as they practice before their presentation for the Virgin of Candelaria celebrations in Puno, Peru. Dancers in colorful masks and elaborate costume celebrate the Virgin of Candelaria, patron saint of communities along the shore of Lake Titicaca, in what's considered the largest Catholic festival in the Andes. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)





In this January 29, 2017 photo, dancers wait their turn to perform during Virgin of Candelaria celebrations in Puno, Peru. In addition to devotion, villagers have other reasons for dancing on the feast. Some are grateful to have been cured of disease, while others are asking for protection for their crops, or increased political power. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)





In this January 29, 2017 photo, a dancer reads a newspaper while waiting to perform during Virgin of Candelaria celebrations in Puno, Peru. As many as 40,000 villagers are expected to gather for the annual festival and show their respect for the patron saint of the communities along the shores of Lake Titicaca. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)