Valya Balkanska facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Valya Balkanska
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Feyme Kestebekova |
| Born | 8 January 1942 Arda, Kingdom of Bulgaria |
| Genres | Folk |
| Occupation(s) | Solo singer |
| Years active | 1960–present |
Valya Balkanska is a famous Bulgarian folk music singer. She was born on January 8, 1942. She is well-known for her beautiful songs from the Rhodope Mountains. People around the world know her for one special song. It's called "Izlel ye Delyo Haydutin". This song was sent into space on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977. It's part of a special message from Earth to any aliens who might find it!
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Valya Balkanska's Early Life
Valya Balkanska's birth name was Feyme Kestebekova. She was born in a small village near Arda, in the Smolyan Province of Bulgaria. Valya started singing traditional Rhodope folk songs when she was a very young child.
Her Singing Career
Valya Balkanska has performed over 300 songs. She has sung in Bulgaria and in many other countries. Since 1960, she has been a main singer for the Rodopa State Ensemble for Folk Songs and Dances. This group is from Smolyan. In 2004, she released an album called Glas ot vechnostta. This means Voice from the Eternity. It included some of her most famous songs. Some of these songs are "A bre yunache ludo i mlado" and "Goro le goro zelena".
"Izlel ye Delyo Haydutin" and Space
Valya Balkanska is most famous for her song "Izlel ye Delyo Haydutin". She recorded this song in 1968. Two musicians, Lazar Kanevski and Stephan Zahmanov, played the bagpipe (called a gaida) with her. An American explorer named Martin Koening recorded her song. It was later released on a record in the United States.
A few years later, this record was chosen for a very special project. Scientists were creating the Voyager Golden Record. This was like a time capsule from Earth. It was meant to fly into space on the Voyager spacecraft. The Golden Record carried sounds and images from Earth. It was a message to any intelligent life that might find it far away.
The famous scientist Carl Sagan helped choose the music for this record. Valya's song was one of the songs picked! It flew into space first on Voyager 2. That spacecraft launched on August 20, 1977. Two weeks later, on September 5, 1977, it also launched on Voyager 1. On August 25, 2012, Voyager 1 became the first human-made object to leave our Solar System. It entered the space between stars.
Awards and Honors
Valya Balkanska has received many important awards. In 2002, she was given the Stara Planina Orden. This is the highest award in Bulgaria. In December 2005, she was honored with her own star plate. This star is on the Bulgarian Walk of Fame in Sofia.
