Dozens of Central American writers, artists and academics from the United States and Latin America are traveling to Northridge to discuss literature and culture in Central America at the free conference from Oct. 24 through 26 in the University Student Union on the east side of the campus along Zelzah Avenue.

"There is a strong need for an event such as this one since there is no other conference on Central American literature and culture being organized with any frequency at a national level by any other university in the United States," said Beatriz Cortez, a professor of modern and classical languages and literatures at CSUN and one of the organizers of the event.

Cortez said the conference provides "a unique opportunity for students and the public to hear and meet some of the most important authors and artists in the Central American community living in the United States and in Central America."

"This assembly of Central American literary and academic talent has only been brought together once before in the history of the United States," she said. The only other time such a gathering took place was in 1999 in Arizona, which Cortez also organized.

The conference schedule is as follows:

• Opening ceremonies - 8:30 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 24, Oviatt Library conference room.
• Central American Contemporary Film Festival - noon to 10:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 24, Performing Arts Center.
• Paper presentations - 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday and Friday, Oct. 25 and 26, various rooms in the University Student Union.
• Central American author presentations - 3:30 to 9 p.m., Thursday and Friday, University Student Union Theater.
• Central American Book Fair - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday and Friday, University Student Union Northridge Center.

Dalton's latest film, "César Menéndez: El Cazador de Fantasías," will be screened for the first time ever during the film festival.

For more information about the conference and film festival, call (818) 677-3467 or visit the web site at http://www.csun.edu/~bc60904/conferencia.html.

Los Angeles is home to the largest Central American population outside of Central America. The more than one million Central Americans living in Los Angeles constitute nearly half of all Central Americans in the United States.

Cal State Northridge is home to the largest Central American student population in the United States. More than 2,500 students (more than 8 percent of the CSUN student body) have self-identified as Central American.

The university has developed the first Central American Studies Program in the United States to meet the needs of the Central American community.

California State University, Northridge has more than 30,000 full- and part-time students and offers 63 bachelor's and 51 master's degrees. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley and the third largest in the 23-campus CSU system. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges recently said CSUN "stands as a model to other public urban institutions of higher education."