Inside a yellow and blue tent overlooking the desert hills of Peru’s capital city, the Tony Perejil circus comes to life.

A set of brown goats hobble up a narrow plank. A woman balances a newspaper rolled into an inverted cone on her nose. Another performer does acrobatics on horseback before half-empty rows of spectators.

The mom-and-pop style spectacle is one of about a hundred remaining circuses in Peru that manage to eke out a living despite waning public enthusiasm for clown and animal acts in an age of viral internet videos and cellphones.

Homes in the Puente Piedra shantytown light up the landscape surrounding the Tony Perejil circus on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

On a recent night, Jose Alvarez tallied the ticket sales for the circus named after his father and sighed when he realized they’d earned less than $40.

“Lima is lousy,” the 52-year-old businessman said, adding he’d move his circus north toward Peru’s border with Ecuador in search of a brighter future.

These days, Lima’s circus acts find themselves increasingly pinched for space and money.

Urban expansion in the city of 10 million inhabitants has made it tough to find enough space to set up a tent in a centrally located neighborhood. Gangs of delinquents charge up to $10 a day for circuses to set up shop in depressed barrios. And a 2011 law prohibits them from using wild animals in their shows.

“Any available space is sold to malls,” lamented Alvarez, who also performs as a clown. “No one thinks about the circus.”

Alvarez remembers happier times in the 1980s, when his father filled their circus tent with people even though Peru was in the midst of an economic crisis and a war raged between the state and Sendero Luminoso guerrillas.

“The circuses were never affected,” he said.

His family’s circus today still maintains much of the old-time traditions of the past: Clowns use makeup to inflate the appearance of their lips, make jokes and don goofy, oversized overalls. A woman in a pink leotard sways from a cord dangling from the ceiling as children watch, mouths agape. The tent has a traditional cone-shaped roof and a simple dirt stage.

Even the profession of clowning has hit hard times, Alvarez said, adding that while some 500 clowns across the country have their own labor association, they have been unable to improve meager wages and living conditions.

“The word ‘clown’ is used incorrectly in Peru,” he said. “It’s understood as a pejorative.”

People buy tickets to enter a show by the International Circus set up in the shantytown of Pro on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, July 20, 2018. The billboard reads in Spanish "Show of magic, illusion and fantasy." (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Santiago Astopilco, dressed as his clown personality "Vaguito" poses for a portrait behind the Tony Perejil circus tent set up in the shantytown of Puente Piedra, before the start of the show on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, July 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

"Vaguito" the clown assists acrobat Brenda Aguila as she prepares to hang from her head, as spectators watch the Tony Perejil circus, set up in the shanty town of Puente Piedra on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, July 8, 2018. The mom-and-pop style spectacle is one of about a hundred remaining circuses that manage to eke out a living in an age of viral internet videos and cellphones. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Clowns Joshep Balta, or "Cachupito," left, and Bryan Jara, or "Fideito Mix" wait to open their show at the International Circus set up in the shantytown Pro on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, July 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Circus owner and clown Jose Alvarez talks into a loud speaker system to announce the soon-to-start opening act, from the circus tent set up in the shantytown of Puente Piedra on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, July 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Youths play soccer next to the Tony Perejil circus tent set up in the shantytown of Puente Piedra on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, July 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Goats named Nina and Carmecita stand leashed to the bleachers of the Tony Perejil circus, where they perform during circus acts, inside the tent set up in the shantytown of Puente Piedra on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, July 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Joshep Balta, a clown named "Cachupito," peers through the tent curtain to see how many people are waiting for the show, put on by the International Circus, set up in the shanty town of Puente Piedra on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, July 20, 2018. Balta, a 12-year old clown whose parents work at the circus setting up and breaking down the encampment, was discovered by the circus two years ago when he was performing as a clown at street corners. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Catherine Barboza performs a balancing act before a few spectators inside the Tony Perejil circus tent set up in the shantytown of Puente Piedra on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, July 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

A sign advertising the International Circus sits on a car parked on a main road in the shantytown Pro on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, July 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Equilibrist Gladys Melendez, the mother of a 2-year-old daughter, gets ready for the opening act at the International Circus set up in the shantytown of Pro on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, July 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

A woman with her baby waits for one of her daughters to arrive before entering the Tony Perejil circus tent, set up in the shantytown of Puente Piedra on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, July 8, 2018. Tickets cost 6 Soles (2 dollars) for adults, and are half price for children. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Juggler Alfredo Cordova performs with fire at the International Circus set up in the shantytown of Pro on the outskirts of in Lima, Peru, July 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Santiago Astopilco puts on his clown make-up to play the part of "Vaguito" inside his tent at the Tony Perejil circus set up in the shantytown of Puente Piedra on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, July 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)