“Before she was born, we already knew she was a special child,” says Anna. “There is no defect. I believe in God, and I believe that he has created a person without defects but with a purpose.”

The family has always treated Valeria not as a child with a heart condition, but as a child with limitations to overcome and gifts to share. Nevertheless, Valeria’s first few years of life were tougher than most children’s. At just one week old, she faced her first open-heart surgery. Next came many procedures, tests, and treatments to help mitigate her condition.

Valeria underwent three major surgeries on her heart before she turned five. Her final operation, “the biggest one,” was in 2019. Through it all, she was brave and had a surprisingly mature outlook for her age.

“Even when it was hard for her to walk, she never complained or said ‘oh, I’m tired,’” says Anna. “She would just say she needed a rest.”

Valeria has come incredibly far in a few short years—healing, growing, and developing in leaps and bounds. Now an active and energetic five-year old, Valeria takes gymnastics classes, plays the piano, draws, and sings.

“I look at my child now who is pink, who is running, who is joyful, and she never gives up,” says Anna. “I see the feat of my child. I look at victory.”

Not only born with a special heart, Valeria was also born with a microphone in her hand. “The microphone is with her all the time,” Anna explains. “Not even a physical microphone, but anything that she was holding, like she was singing with a broom, she was singing with a computer cord—everything was her microphone.”

Valeria’s favorite game to play at home is where she’ll pretend to be a contestant on a singing competition and walk through the entire audition process, with her grandfather standing in as judge. “He sits in front of her and asks her questions and she’s so excited about answering the questions,” says Anna.

Valeria also loves Disney songs and movies. One in particular speaks to her—she is obsessed with Disney Animation’s Moana, which tells the story of an adventurous teenager in Ancient Polynesia on a daring mission to discover her history and save her people.

Valeria identifies with the film’s courageous protagonist. “My name is Valeria, which means brave, healthy, and strong, and Moana is so brave,” she says.

When it came time to grant Valeria’s wish to sing on stage, music venues across the Bay Area were shut down due to COVID-19 and large gatherings were prohibited. There were going to be some limitations for Make-A-Wish staff members and volunteers to overcome.

Thankfully, the generous team at the Concord Pavilion opened their doors for one day only to help make a wish come true. The venue, which can hold over 12,000 audience members, was shuttered during what normally would have been a busy concert season. Only 10 people were allowed to be in the space at one time due to pandemic safety regulations. But staff members knew that with a bit of ingenuity and perseverance, Valeria could perform her heart out while staying safe and socially distant on their spacious outdoor stage.

Venue secured, Valeria’s wish came together thanks to a dedicated team of staff, volunteers, and community partners—both on site and behind the scenes. Inspired by Valeria’s story, the crew worked hard to make her wish day as special as possible.

“Everything was so well thought out, so detailed,” says Anna. “The video crew, the limo, the way she was treated when she came out, with fans standing with the signs that said ‘Valeria. Star.’”

For Valeria, the magical day unfolded exactly as she pictured it. “You just couldn't imagine how excited she was,” says Anna. “When she saw the limo, oh my gosh, she was jumping. I thought she would jump out of the car!”

The Concord Pavilion also lived up to Valeria’s grand expectations. “She was running up and down the stairs, she was so excited to see that big stage, and she was running around the arena, saying ‘oh my gosh, it’s so big!’” says Anna. “She was so excited.”

Up on that big stage, Valeria belted out her favorite songs to a small but mighty audience of her mom, sister, grandparents, her vocal coach, Pavilion staff, and AV volunteers. From Disney’s Moana soundtrack, she performed “How Far I’ll Go,” proudly singing the meaningful lyric “There's just no telling how far I'll go.”

For her second performance, Valeria was joined by her older sister Eva for a beautiful rendition of “Belarussian Girl,” a traditional folk song that has special meaning for the family. “I’m so grateful that she was able to have her sister sing with her so then she didn’t have to think about how it was something special for her because of her health condition, because that would bother her,” says Anna.

Valeria’s wish may have been the only concert to take place at the Concord Pavilion that season, but it certainly brought down the house. “I don’t have enough words to express everything that she went through and me as a mom, because I only had tears,” says Anna. “Tears of joy were on my face at the end of the day. The wish day was just amazing.”

Valeria’s wish experience was the perfect happy ending to a long and painful journey and gave her strength and confidence to take with her on her next adventures. Now the family will always have footage from that special day for a special child, to look back on and celebrate how far they’ve come.