Quixote Inspired Entrepreneur Invites Fellow Cervantes Fans to Share His Impossible Dream

Invites photo contributions to his Virtual Museum of more than 1000 Quixote related objects.

(PRWEB) January 10, 2005 -- What kind of business would launch an online museum of more than 1000 pieces related to a 400 year old literary character? René de Jong, founder and General Director of don Quijote In-Country Spanish courses, has for years dreamed of creating an online Don Quixote museum. Before the end of January 2005, de Jongs company will open the doors to the Virtual Museum he envisioned, uniting more than 1000 images, statues, business and place names, works of art and ordinary items inspired by the idealistic knight-errant, just in time to join Spains celebration of the 400th anniversary of Cervantes novel. De Jong invites fellow Quixote fans to contribute photos of their own Quixote-inspired memorabilia, places and business names to the museum.

A great admirer of El Ingenioso Hidalgo de La Mancha, de Jong started his own collection in 1991 when his sister Marianne, co-Director of his business, gave him a statue of his companys namesake for his office. The collection now boasts more than 350 pieces, many of which adorn the tables and hallways of his companys Central Promotion office in Salamanca, Spain. The collection includes everything from woodcuts, sculptures, paintings and ceramics to T-shirts and restaurant menus.

De Jongs quixotic quest to create the Museum began more than 3 years ago. For more than a year we had a full time employee dedicated exclusively to Internet research," he said. Ive been inspired by Quixote, my company continues to be inspired by Quixote and now were putting out a general call to those who share our passion. For 400 years Don Quixote has inspired ordinary people to pursue their dreams. This museum is a place to celebrate that inspiration."

To participate, Quixote lovers can submit a photo of the entry, along with their name, address, phone number, and e-mail address, a brief description of the Quixote article, and a note of permission to include it in the online museum. Participants can mail their entries to don Quijote, Virtual Museum, Apdo de Correos 333, 37080, Salamanca, Spain or visit www.donquijote.org/museum to submit a photo by e-mail.

For 18 years, don Quijote, the market leader in in-country Spanish language courses, has been exclusively dedicated to the teaching of Spanish through an interactive and communicative method. In 2003, the company welcomed more than 12,000 students from 60 countries to its schools in Salamanca, Madrid, Barcelona, Tenerife, Seville, Granada and Valencia, Spain, and Guanajuato, Mexico. The don Quijote Web site, www.donquijote.org, a Spanish language portal offering more than 34,000 pages of Spanish language resources, receives more than 35,000 visits per day.

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