CONSULATE'S NEW CENTER WINDOW TO MEXICO.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

Every week the faxes roll in to Maritza Alonso's office at the Mexican Consulate - 1,500 of them, asking about everything from Mexican history and Spanish-language courses to travel in Mexico.

Soon, for the first time, Alonso, the consulate's administrator, will be able to provide more than just a response over the phone. With the pending opening of the Rosario Castellanos Document Center in the consulate, she'll be able to invite the curious in to find out for themselves.

The consulate's new public document center will be the first of its kind in the world for Mexico.

``For us this is an event that is simple, yet significant,'' Mexican Consul General Jose Angel Pescador Osuna said Thursday during a news conference to announce the center.

Named after a famed Mexican writer who died in 1974 while ambassador to Israel, the center is scheduled to open to the public April 20 and includes Mexican law and history books, the latest Mexican periodicals and the largest Mexican movie collection in Los Angeles.

In recent years, consulates have performed a range of new duties - promoting culture, economics, education and social issues, Pescador said.

``This has compelled us every day to have more information to respond to the questions that are formulated,'' said Pescador, who decided it was time the public be able to tap into the consulate's wealth of information.

Visitors will be able to access Mexican newspapers through the Internet at work stations set up at the center. They can browse through textbooks used to teach elementary schoolchildren in Mexico, look up recipes for regional dishes from various states, or browse through Mexican President Ernesto Cedillo's latest speech.

GETTING TO KNOW MEXICO

The Rosario Castellanos Document Center is scheduled to open April 20.

Where: First floor of the Mexican Consulate, 2401 W. 6th St., Los Angeles. [phone].

When: Open to the public, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

All books, movies and documents must remain at the center. Access is free. Visitors can make copy documents, but must watch the movies in-house. The consulate plans to open a World Wide Web home page after the document center opens.

Highlights

Specialized magazines such as ``Proceso,'' ``Vuelta,'' ``U.S. Latin Trade,'' ``Latino Journal,'' ``Voices of Mexico'' and ``Saludos Hispanos.''

Encyclopedias of Mexico, travel brochures on Mexican states, atlases, lesson books for elementary school teachers, Mexican penal codes, treaties between the United States and Mexico.

The complete works of Mexican feminist intellectual Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz and Miguel de Cervantes.

Information on how to invest in Mexico, how to import and export, and a listing of Mexican universities.

CAPTION(S):

2 boxes

Box: (1) Getting to know Mexico (see text)

(2) Highlights (see text)