Carlos Alman is the search name commonly used for Carlos Almánzar, Cardi B’s Dominican father and a former New York cab driver. Cardi B has said that her father came to the United States from the Dominican Republic in 1990 and worked as a cab driver for nine years. PEOPLE’s profile of Cardi B’s parents likewise identifies him as Carlos Almánzar and describes his background in New York taxi work.
Despite the amount of biographical information repeated about him online, several basic details remain uncertain. His exact birth date and age have not been established by an authoritative public record reviewed for this profile, and longer versions of his name conflict across sources. What is much better documented is his place in Cardi B’s family story: her Dominican heritage, bilingual upbringing, New York childhood and some of the everyday experiences she has publicly associated with her father.
Key takeaways
- Carlos Almánzar is Cardi B’s Dominican father and a former New York cab driver.
- Cardi B has said he moved to the United States in 1990 and drove a cab for nine years.
- Carlos and Clara are the parents of Cardi B and her younger sister, Hennessy Carolina.
- Cardi has spoken publicly about her father teaching her Spanish-language and Caribbean cultural history.
- Carlos’s exact date of birth, age and longer legal name are not reliably established by authoritative sources.
Carlos Almánzar profile summary
| Detail | Verified information |
|---|---|
| Name | Carlos Almánzar |
| Known for | Father of Cardi B |
| Origin | Dominican Republic |
| U.S. arrival | 1990, according to Cardi B |
| Occupation | Former New York cab driver |
| Cab-driving period | Nine years, according to Cardi B |
| Children with Clara | Cardi B and Hennessy Carolina |
His Dominican background and life in New York
Carlos is from the Dominican Republic. Cardi B has described herself as the daughter of a Dominican father and Trinidadian mother in several major interviews, including The FADER’s 2016 profile.
In a 2020 statement preserved by Hot 97, Cardi said her father came to the United States in 1990 and later spent nine years driving a cab. The statement also used the name “Carlos Julio Almanzar,” although no civil record was found that establishes that as his complete legal name. Hot 97’s report is therefore useful for what Cardi herself said, but the immigration date and work duration should still be understood as her account rather than details independently established through employment or immigration records.
His exact taxi-employment dates are not known. It would be inaccurate to turn the nine-year figure into a specific period such as 1990 to 1999 without further evidence.
Cardi later indicated that her father remained interested in issues affecting taxi drivers. PEOPLE reported that in 2019 she said he was still campaigning on behalf of cab drivers after leaving the job.
His family with Clara and Cardi B
Carlos and Clara are the parents of Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, better known as Cardi B, and Hennessy Carolina. PEOPLE reports that Hennessy was born on December 22, 1995.
Cardi has said that her parents separated when she was 13 years old. That is the strongest-supported description of the family chronology. Some biography sites publish specific marriage or divorce years, but those dates have not been established through reliable records and should not be treated as confirmed.
ESSENCE has also reported that Cardi has six additional siblings on her father’s side from a previous relationship. Because those relatives are substantially less public than Cardi and Hennessy, their identities and private lives do not need to be expanded simply to complete a family roster.
How her father shaped Cardi B’s upbringing
The most revealing information about Carlos comes from Cardi B’s own descriptions of growing up.
In GQ’s 2018 interview with Cardi B, she explained that her Dominican father spoke to her exclusively in Spanish. That detail places him directly within the bilingual household that shaped her childhood in New York.
Cardi has also described her father as someone who taught her about the wider Caribbean. In a 2018 interview published by CR Fashion Book, she recalled learning from him about different Caribbean countries, their histories under European colonial powers and why communities across the region speak different languages.
Those lessons are more specific than the broad claim that Carlos simply “influenced Cardi’s heritage.” They show the kinds of subjects she remembers discussing with him and how her Dominican background was communicated inside the family.
Other memories are more ordinary. PEOPLE has reported that Cardi credited her father with introducing her to foods including tomatoes with salt and Dominican mondongo. In a Father’s Day post, she also called herself and Carlos “personality twins,” linking the comparison partly to their sense of humor.
After the birth of Cardi’s daughter Kulture in 2018, Cardi said her father was helping by running errands for her in New York. That does not establish his broader role in her household, but it provides a documented example of practical family support at a particular moment.
Why he has remained less public than Cardi B
Carlos has occasionally appeared alongside his daughter, including at Cardi B’s Gold Album Release Party in New York City on April 10, 2018, where PEOPLE identifies him in WireImage photography.
His public exposure has nevertheless been far more limited than Cardi’s. A 2019 incident illustrates that boundary clearly. Univision documented an attempted interview with Carlos, after which Cardi objected strongly to having her father put on television without her approval. She later explained that her parents did not like being filmed and raised concerns about their privacy and security.
That episode provides a documented reason to treat Carlos as a private relative rather than filling gaps in his biography with speculation. It does not mean that every aspect of his life is secret; it simply means the public record about him is much narrower than his daughter’s.
How old is Carlos Alman?
Carlos’s exact age is not reliably established.
A birth date of March 19, 1958 appears repeatedly on biography sites, and some pages consequently describe him as 68 years old in 2026. However, those pages do not identify an authoritative birth record, direct interview or other strong source for that date.
Because the same unsourced date has been copied across multiple websites, repetition alone does not make it verified. The safer conclusion is that Carlos Almánzar’s exact date of birth and age remain publicly unconfirmed.
The same caution applies to longer versions of his name. Cardi herself used “Carlos Julio Almanzar” in 2020, while weaker databases and biography sites circulate “Carlos Alberto Almánzar Marsan.” Without an authoritative identity record resolving that conflict, Carlos Almánzar is the most defensible form to use.
He is not the former MLB pitcher Carlos Almánzar
The name can also cause confusion with a completely different person.
Major League Baseball’s official Carlos Almánzar player record identifies Carlos Manuel Almánzar, born November 6, 1973, in Santiago, Dominican Republic, as a former major-league pitcher.
That baseball player is not Cardi B’s father.
Similarly, database results that associate a “Carlos Alman” with the animated series Kate and Mim-Mim should not be attached to Cardi’s father. Production cast information conflicts with those listings, and there is no reliable evidence establishing an acting career for Carlos Almánzar.
What is Carlos Almánzar doing now?
As of August 23, 2026, no reliable public source reviewed for this profile establishes a new occupation, business venture or regular public role for Carlos.
One later family detail came in 2021, when Cardi said her father worked with Offset in connection with a property Offset bought for her in the Dominican Republic. That episode shows family involvement in the transaction, but it does not establish that Carlos became a professional real-estate developer or had a separate property business.
His most recent public relevance has come largely from discussion about Cardi B and from misinformation attached to his name rather than from projects of his own.
In January 2026, a serious accusation about Carlos circulated online. BET reported that the viral material appeared to be fabricated and documented Cardi B’s public denial. Independent reporting also described the claim as unfounded. The episode is best understood as a misinformation incident, not as evidence of criminal conduct.
That reporting should not be stretched into a universal claim about Carlos’s entire legal history; it establishes that the particular viral accusation circulating in January 2026 was not substantiated.
Conclusion
Carlos Almánzar is best understood not as a public entertainer or celebrity in his own right, but as Cardi B’s Dominican father and a former New York cab driver whose influence appears most clearly in her own accounts of family life. She has linked him to her Spanish-language upbringing, knowledge of Caribbean history, food memories and moments of practical family support.
His public biography also illustrates why caution matters with private relatives of famous people. Carlos’s relationship to Cardi B, Dominican background and taxi work are well supported, while his exact age, birth date, full legal name and many profile details repeated elsewhere remain unresolved. As of August, 2026, the strongest record is therefore a relatively concise one—and a more accurate picture than the much longer biographies built from unverified claims.