Carlos Alman, also known by his full name Carlos Alberto Almánzar Marsan, is the father of Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B.
Born in the Dominican Republic in 1958, he spent years working as a New York City taxi driver while raising his family in the Bronx. Unlike his daughter, he has stayed almost entirely out of the public eye.
Who is Carlos Alman?
Carlos Alman is best known as the father of Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus, and of her younger sister, social media personality Hennessy Carolina.
He is a retired taxi driver who spent decades navigating the streets of New York City. He has never given a public interview and has no known social media accounts of his own. Most of what is known about him comes from what Cardi B has shared over the years.
Cardi B has been fiercely protective of her father’s privacy. In 2019, she stopped a Univision camera crew from filming him on the street, telling them he had no security and she did not want him put on television.
Early Life and Background
Carlos Alman was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up there before immigrating to the United States. He settled in New York City in 1990 and eventually made his home in the Highbridge section of the South Bronx.
His mother is named Esperanza Almánzar. Little else about his parents or his life before immigrating has been made public.
Carlos Alman’s Age
Carlos Alman is 68 years old as of 2026, born on March 19, 1958. His zodiac sign is Pisces.
He has lived quietly in retirement in the New York area in recent years, largely away from the spotlight that surrounds his two daughters.
Carlos Alman’s Ethnicity and Nationality
Carlos Alman is Dominican-American. He was born in the Dominican Republic and later became a longtime resident of New York City after immigrating in 1990.
Cardi B has often spoken about the Dominican heritage she gets from her father, including in interviews where she has described him teaching her about Caribbean history and identity.
That heritage has also shown up in her music, including her 2018 single “I Like It,” which drew on Latin and Caribbean sounds.
Career as a New York City Taxi Driver
Carlos Alman worked as a taxi driver in New York City for years, a job that shaped much of his family’s early life.
Cardi B has described her parents as having held “regular, poor jobs” while she was growing up.
He is now retired from driving. Cardi B has continued to speak out on behalf of New York’s taxi drivers, work she has tied to watching her father’s experience behind the wheel.
Marriage to Clara Almánzar and Family
Carlos married Clara Mercedes Almánzar, who is originally from Trinidad and Tobago, in 1991. The couple settled in the Highbridge neighborhood of the South Bronx and raised their two daughters there.
Carlos and Clara separated around 2005, when Cardi B was about 13 years old. Despite the divorce, both parents have remained part of their daughters’ lives.
Carlos also has six children from an earlier relationship, making him a father of eight in total. Two of his other daughters have been identified in public reporting as Maciel Almanzar and Nicauly Villalona, and one of his sons as Fernando Almanzar.
Little public information exists about his other children, who, like their father, have stayed out of the spotlight.
Children
Carlos Alman’s two most widely known children are Cardi B, born October 11, 1992, and Hennessy Carolina, born several years later. Both were raised in the Bronx and later in Washington Heights, where their paternal grandmother lived.
Carlos is also a grandfather. Cardi B and her former husband, rapper Offset, share children together, including their eldest daughter, Kulture, born in 2018.
Relationship With Cardi B
Cardi B has spoken warmly of her father throughout her career, at one point calling him her “personality twin” in a Father’s Day message. She has credited both of her parents with keeping her grounded during her early life in the Bronx.
Their relationship has stayed largely private. Carlos rarely appears on camera or at public events, and Cardi B has made a point of shielding him from unwanted media attention.
Recent News: The January 2026 Rumor
In January 2026, a false claim spread on social media alleging that Carlos Almanzar had a decades-old attempted rape conviction.
The claim originated from a fabricated screenshot falsely attributed to the AI chatbot Grok and was amplified by a parody account on X.
Cardi B denied the claim directly, stating that her father had never been arrested in the United States and noting that a conviction would have made him subject to deportation as an immigrant.
She also said she was prepared to pursue legal action against those spreading the rumor.
Outlets including Billboard, Complex, and BET reported that the underlying screenshot was fabricated and that no matching court records existed.
The story followed a pattern of past false rumors about Carlos that Cardi B has pushed back on over the years.
The Bottom Line
Carlos Alman spent years driving a cab through New York City while raising two daughters who would each build large public followings of their own, Cardi B as a Grammy-winning rapper and Hennessy Carolina as a social media personality.
He passed down a strong connection to his Dominican heritage, something Cardi B has referenced often in interviews and carried into songs like “I Like It.”
He has also stayed a steady presence in his daughters’ lives even after his 2005 divorce from their mother, Clara Almánzar.
Carlos remains almost entirely private, avoiding interviews and public appearances, with Cardi B stepping in whenever media attention turns his way.
In January 2026, that protectiveness was on full display when she publicly shut down a false rumor about his past.
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