John L. Van der Heyden was born in Nijmegen in The Netherlands, shortly after the Second World War. After having finished his secondary education and the teacher's training college he became a teacher of primary education and studied Spanish Language and Literature. From 1979 until 1987 he was a company director of a well-known language institute in The Netherlands. In February 1986 he decided during Expolangues in Paris to start a new company with the basic idea to create a better understanding between Dutch-, English-, and Spanish-speaking people. Therefore he took a course in general management at the Management Institute of the Dutch Employers' Organization 'de Baak' in Noordwijk where he also was a member of the Board until summer 1991. As from that time he planned the new company 'Instituto Cervantes' and advised the Secretaries of State of the Dutch Government in several letters. Therefore the Dutch Government was called 'Purple' because of the house colour of the Instituto Cervantes Benelux. This was also expressed in a British newspaper in the final line of a limerick in the summer of 1997 with the text "'And now their faces are Purple as Heather'." After Princess Diana's awful death in Paris he retired in Spain but still hopes that his Dream will come true by the publishing of this book.