The young man from Villa El Salvador who took apart his toys, taught himself English and achieved a full scholarship at MIT

When Renato Gaitan I was a child and growing up Villa El Salvadorhe could spend hours wondering how things worked. In his house it was common to see him dismantle any mechanism that caused him astonishment, from toys to bicycles, to the bewilderment of everyone. Sometimes he managed to put it back together; others, no. But curiosity was stronger than frustration. His mother, Mrs. Asunción García, remembers that his curiosity seemed infinite. “I always wanted to know the reason for everything,” he says today. That curious boy is 18 years old today and will soon take a plane to the United States. Renato Gaitán has been admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the most prestigious universities in the world, where he will study pure mathematics.

The family had to reorganize their entire routine so that Renato could enter the circle. Asunción remembers years of sacrifice to accompany her son’s enthusiasm. Many times he had to close his clothing stall on the days when he sold the most, because Renato had academic skills. “I knew we were going to make less money,” he says, “but I cared more about seeing him happy.” That silent support was key.

Renato began to participate in mathematics Olympiads and dedicate more and more hours to studying, imposing an iron discipline on himself: days of up to twelve hours solving problems and reviewing theory. The effort soon began to bear results. Renato accumulated medals in national and international competitions, and traveled to countries such as Russia, China, Australia and the United Kingdom representing his school and Peru.