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 Mladenova Balkanska is a famous Bulgarian folk music singer. She was born on January 8, 1942. Valya is well-known in her home country for singing many traditional songs from the Rhodope Mountains. Around the world, she is most famous for her song "Izlel ye Delyo Haydutin". This special song was chosen to be part of the Voyager Golden Record. This record was sent into space on two Voyager spacecraft in 1977. It was like a message from Earth to any aliens who might find it!
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Early Life of Valya Balkanska
Valya Balkanska was born with the name Feyme Kestebekova. She grew up in a small village called Arda in Smolyan Province, Bulgaria. Her family was from a group called Pomaks. Valya started singing traditional Rhodope folk songs when she was a very young child.
Valya Balkanska's 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 in Smolyan. This group performs traditional Bulgarian music and dances.
In 2004, Valya released an album called Glas ot vechnostta. This means Voice from the Eternity. The album included some of her most popular songs. These songs are "A bre yunache ludo i mlado", "Goro le goro zelena", and "Maychinko stara maychinko".
The Song "Izlel ye Delyo Haydutin" and Voyager Spacecraft
Valya Balkanska is most famous around the world for her song "Izlel ye Delyo Haydutin". She recorded this song in 1968. She was joined by two musicians, Lazar Kanevski and Stephan Zahmanov. They played the bagpipe (which is called a gaida in Bulgaria).
An American explorer of Bulgarian folklore, Martin Koening, made her best-known recording. This recording was released on a vinyl record in the United States. Later, a copy of this record was accidentally chosen for the Golden Record project.
The Voyager Golden Record
The Golden Record was a special message from Earth. It was designed to fly out of our Solar System on two NASA Voyager spacecraft. The famous scientist Carl Sagan and his team chose the music for the record. Valya's song was one of the 90 minutes of music selected.
The song first flew into space on Voyager 2, 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 object made by humans to leave our solar system. It entered the space between stars, carrying Valya's song far into the cosmos!
Awards and Honors
Valya Balkanska has received many important awards. In 2002, she was given the Stara Planina Orden. This is the highest award a person can receive in Bulgaria. In December 2005, she was honored with her own star plate. This star is on the Bulgarian Walk of Fame in Sofia, just like famous people have stars in Hollywood.
