(image by Adam Jones, Ph.D. via flickr)

Dominican baseball player Sammy Sosa is sparking controversy after showing up to the Latin Grammys with what appears to be bleached skin. (Sosa says it's the side-effect of a "skin-softening" product.) Some Dominicans argue the problem is internal racism and point to hair straightening as another symptom.

Are some Dominicans ashamed of their African roots?

"Dominican Family Guy" first appeared on YouTube in 2007 and has resurfaced a few times since, each time attracting hundreds of thousands of views. Unauthorized and probably illegal, the videos flip standard episodes of "Family Guy" with new dialogue delivered in a heavy Dominican slang. A popular video features the following exchange:

Peter: Diablo primo, pero aquí se acumula mucha cerveza, Díos mio!

Beer Factory Worker: Mire primo, yo le doy un consejo. Aquí hay camaras, si Usted se comienza a llevar algo se lo va llevar el diablo a usted. El único lugar que puede beber fría es ese tanque [points to a massive container of beer], que se lo puede llevar si Usted quiere. Pero aquí la gente no se dan cuenta cuando se llevan la vaina.

Peter: ¡A no, pue ta to', ta to'!

Beer Factory Worker: Pero la vaina está jevi. Pue dejame traerte los documentos entonces.

The man behind "Dominican Family Guy" is El Viejo Brother, a comedian-musician from New York. We asked the 26-year-old Dominican-American about béisbol, Tracy Morgan and why his video is "tan jevi."

What did you think about Tracy Morgan’s "Dominican Lou" from back in the day?

I think that his sketch was very funny. He tried to represent us and our culture. He took it a bit over the top, but I guess that's were he needed to take it to make it funny.

Was Sammy Sosa on the juice?

No. I think he was naturally a good player.

What’s the Dominican Republic’s best export – other than peloteros, merengue and the awesome hair salon ladies?

Another of our best export is the craftsmanship.

Are your voices inspired by people you know?

No, the actions are inspired by my friends.

Any plans to do other shows that lend themselves to parody?

My goal is to do a parody base on my life and what I seen.

Is there anything about the family in "Family Guy" that reminds you of Dominican families?

No, there's nothing that even comes close to the Dominican families. What makes it funny is my lil flavor that I just did with it, lol.

The movie Sugar tells the story of 19-year-old Miguel "Azucar" Santos, a pitcher from San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic who moves to a small town in Iowa to pursue his dream of making it to the majors.

Sugar was written and directed by the team of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, best known for previous movie Half Nelson. We chatted with the duo about their latest film.

What inspired you to make a movie about a Dominican baseball player? Are you baseball fans? Merengue fans?

Ryan is a baseball fan. Anna is a merengue fan.

What’s better, The Natural or The Bad News Bears?

Bad News Bears.

Were you surprised by anything when you shot in the Dominican Republic?

We were surprised by how quickly the sun rose and fell! The sun seems to stay very high in the sky for a large portion of the day – the most difficult lighting situation to shoot in. And once the sun starts to go down, it heads down fast. It posed a real challenge for our director of photography and lighting crew, but they learned to adjust quickly. They had to!

Are you Spanish speakers? Was it hard to write dialogue in Spanish?

We wrote the script in English first. Anna is fluent in Spanish and worked with a Dominican-born translator in New York to translate the script into Spanish. Then we worked with the lead actor, Algenis Perez Soto, to revise the language so that it felt natural to him – and specific to a 19-year-old character from that specific part of Dominican Republic (San Pedro).

You guys are a couple. Does that mean you take your work home with you? Do you ever want to get away from each other?

Declined to comment.

Sugar opens in Los Angeles and New York this Friday, April 3.

Spanish rapper Arianna Puello admits motherhood has changed her – but only a little: "My philosophy about life has changed for the better, but I'm still a non-conformist."

Born Arianna Isabel Puello Pereyra in the Dominican Republic, the breakdancer-turned-MC began her hip hop career 15 years ago in Spain – her home since age eight – under the name ARI. Before Mala Rodríguez made Spanish hip hop famous in the U.S. and México, the petite Puello was the only female lyricist cranking out streetwise raps about life in urban Spain.

No longer the beanie-rocking tough girl of albums like El Tentempié (A Taste), Gancho Perfecto (Perfect Hook) and La Fecha (The Date), Puello strikes a more feminine pose on the cover of her newest release, 13 Razones (13 Reasons). Produced by Echo (Tego Calderón, Don Omar, Daddy Yankee), Puello is comfortable alternating between club-friendly jams like Todo el Mundo Gritando and Juana Kalamidad alongside gritty, rapid-fire tracks like "Duelo de Titanes."

Despite a decade in the game and collaborations with some of the biggest names in Latin hip hop – Orishas, Cartel de Santa and La Mala – Puello says the grind isn't over: "You don't get [success] from one day to the next. You have to work hard and be consistent."

See: myspace.com/ariannapuello