Maximiliano Thous Orts
Maximiliano Thous Orts, (b. San Esteban de Pravia, Asturias, 1875 - d. Valencia, 1947), also known as Maximilià Thous i Orts, was a Spanish journalist, writer and filmmaker.
Although he was born in Asturias, his family were from Alicante, and when he was small they went to live in Valencia where he grew up. He studied Law at the University of Valencia, but soon gave up his studies to work as a journalist and writer. During his professional career he founded several magazines: El Gladiador, El Guante Blanco (1912–18) and El Sobaquillo. He also worked at El Criterio, El Palleter, and El Correo Valenciano, and managed La Correspondencia de Valencia, which he made the official publication of the political party Unión Valencianista Regional (URV) ; he was also this party's candidate in several municipal elections. In 1901 he won the Flor Natural top prize in the Floral Games. In 1909, together with José Serrano Simeón, he composed the Valencian Anthem, known as the Exhibition Anthem.
He wrote many works for the theatre - operettas, farces and comedies. He also worked as a filmmaker. In 1918 he directed the documentary Sanz y el Secreto de Su Arte about the ventriloquist Paco Sanz. From 1923, when Primo de Rivera's regime began, he produced other films: La Bruja, La Dolores, La alegría del batallón and Nit d'albaes. During the Second Spanish Republic he became director of the Valencian Ethnography and Folklore Museum. At the end of the Spanish Civil War the museum was closed down and Thous lost his rights as composer of the anthem, leaving him destitute. After this he wrote only a few unsuccessful booklets. In 1949 he was posthumously honoured by the Lo Rat Penat cultural association.