The cultural businessman Enrique Fayos, promoter of the Olympia Theater in Valencia, has died this Friday at the age of 98, according to sources close to him have confirmed to Europa Press.
Fayos took charge of the Olympia Theater from 1953. From then on, the cultural venue became one of the busiest first-run cinemas in the city of Valencia. In the autumn of 1984, the Olympia reopened its doors as a theater and in the last thirty years the programming has gradually adapted to the evolution of the entertainment industry, cultural consumption and society itself.
A theater that, with the addition to its management of Enrique and María Ángeles Fayos --sons of Enrique Fayos--, has risen among the first in the State in terms of number of spectators.
During these years the Fayos family has received multiple awards in recognition of its cultural trajectory, including the Medal of the Valencian Council of Culture in 2015 to recognize the hundred years of activity of the Olympia Theatre, a "living cultural asset of the city", or in 2016 the distinction of the Generalitat Valenciana for cultural merit.
His children, Enrique and María Ángeles Fayos, through the Olympia Metropolitana society, are currently in charge of the Olympia Theater in Valencia. They also manage other cultural venues in the city and the province, such as the Teatre Talia, the Auditori de Torrent, the Auditori de La Vall d'Uixó and the Teatre Auditori de Catarroja TAC. For years they were in charge of the programming of the Apolo theater in Barcelona and also managed the Cinstudio d'Or cinemas in Valencia.
The Olympia Theater opens its doors on November 10, 1915, and has been in continuous operation ever since. And in private hands, something that distinguishes it from the oldest rooms that survive in the city of Valencia. Although inaugurated as a theater, in 1923 it was transformed into a movie theater due to the greater profitability and pull of celluloid, among other things. Seventy-one years later, it returns to programming theater due to the loss of spectators suffered by traditional movie theaters.
Starting in 1953, Enrique Fayos and Espectáculos Callao Asociados took over. From these years, the Olympia became one of the busiest first-run cinemas in the city. In the autumn of 1984, the Olympia reopened its doors as a theater and in the last thirty years, the programming has adapted to the evolution of the entertainment industry, cultural consumption and society itself.
After learning of the death of Fayos, numerous personalities from the world of culture and Valencian politics have expressed their condolences. Among them, the mayoress of Valencia, María José Catalá, who has sent her condolences to the family, which she has highlighted as "a reference in the cultural industry of our city", as well as "hardworking, honest and idealistic". "I am very sorry for the loss", she added on her account on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
For his part, the general secretary of the PSPV and 'ex-president' of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig, stressed that Paris "has an Olympia theatre, and Valencia too", and lamented that "its great promoter has died". "José María Pou, Ricardo Darín, José Sacristán, Lola Herrera, Raimon, Paco Ibáñez... Thank you for bringing us so much culture, Enrique. The show will continue. Rest in peace," he wrote.
