The Instituto Cervantes is a public not-for-profit institution founded by the Government of Spain in 1991 to promote Spanish language teaching and knowledge of the cultures of Spanish speaking countries throughout the world. It is now the largest international Spanish teaching organization, and has more than 60 centers in 4 continents. The Instituto Cervantes was awarded with the Príncipe de Asturias Prize in 2005 in the category of Humanities and Communication.

The central headquarters of the Instituto Cervantes are in Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, and in Madrid.     The Instituto Cervantes of Chicago, Inc. was established in 1996.