Carlos Alman is the name commonly used online for Carlos Almánzar, the Dominican father of American rapper Cardi B. Cardi B publicly identified him as Carlos Julio Almanzar in statements reported in May 2020. He previously worked as a taxi driver in New York City and raised two daughters, Cardi B and Hennessy Carolina, with his former wife, Clara Almánzar.
Although Carlos became known through his daughter’s music career, his own background is rooted in New York’s working life and the family’s Dominican heritage. Cardi B has discussed his occupation, the lessons he taught her, and her efforts to help him financially as her career developed.
Key takeaways
- Identity: Carlos Alman is commonly identified as Carlos Almánzar, Cardi B’s Dominican father.
- Career: He worked as a New York City cab driver. Cardi B said in 2020 that he had driven taxis for nine years.
- Family: Carlos and his former wife, Clara Almánzar, are the parents of Cardi B and Hennessy Carolina. Cardi told Vogue in 2019 that her father had eight children altogether.
- Family background: Cardi has described speaking Spanish with her father and learning about Caribbean history from him.
- Recent appearance: Carlos accompanied Cardi B on a family visit to the Dominican Republic in March 2026, according to Diario Libre.
Carlos Almánzar profile summary
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Carlos Almánzar (also written Carlos Almanzar) |
| Fuller name | Carlos Julio Almanzar, according to Cardi B |
| Common search name | Carlos Alman |
| Known for | Being Cardi B’s father |
| Origin | Dominican Republic |
| Former occupation | New York City taxi driver |
| Former wife | Clara Almánzar |
| Daughters with Clara | Cardi B and Hennessy Carolina |
| Total children | Eight, according to Cardi B’s December 2019 Vogue interview |
| Family connections | South Bronx, Washington Heights and the Dominican Republic |
Who Is Carlos Alman?
Carlos Almánzar is originally from the Dominican Republic. He later settled in the United States, where he worked as a cab driver and raised a family in New York.
His daughter Cardi B, whose birth name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, grew up with two Caribbean backgrounds. Her father is Dominican, while her mother, Clara, is Trinidadian.
According to a May 2020 account published by Hot 97, Cardi said Carlos had arrived in the United States in 1990. She also identified him by the fuller name Carlos Julio Almanzar. That name comes from her public statement rather than an independently published legal record.
Carlos’s family was associated with the South Bronx and Washington Heights during Cardi’s childhood. She spent time at her paternal grandmother’s home in Washington Heights, a neighbourhood with longstanding connections to New York’s Dominican community.
His relationship with Cardi B is also documented beyond family interviews. In September 2025, Reuters photographed Carlos Almanzar alongside his daughter at a public event in Washington Heights.
His Career as a New York Taxi Driver
Carlos’s best-documented occupation is taxi driving. He worked in New York City before his daughter became an internationally recognised recording artist.
His working background became part of a specific conversation Cardi B had about supporting her parents financially.
In February 2016, when her entertainment career was developing, Cardi discussed the possibility of purchasing a bodega for her father. A bodega is a small neighbourhood convenience shop, common in New York City.
At the time, Carlos wanted to move away from cab driving. Cardi considered the shop as a possible alternative source of employment for him.
The idea did not become a completed business purchase.
In a June 2017 interview with The FADER, Cardi explained that she had abandoned the plan because she considered the business too risky. She also described offering her father an allowance, which he declined.
According to her account, Carlos preferred help finding work rather than simply receiving money.
These details come from Cardi B’s 2017 interview with The FADER, which followed the magazine’s earlier discussion of the proposed bodega.
The two interviews establish what Cardi intended to do and how the plan changed. They do not establish that Carlos subsequently owned or operated a shop.
His work as a cab driver was also mentioned in an October 2018 interview published by W Magazine. This provides additional reporting on the occupation that formed an important part of his family’s earlier circumstances.
In 2019, Cardi also publicly discussed her father’s continuing interest in better conditions for taxi drivers, according to a later PEOPLE profile. The account suggests he maintained an interest in the profession after his years behind the wheel, although it does not establish that he held a formal advocacy position.
Carlos Almánzar’s Family and Children
Carlos was married to Clara Almánzar, Cardi B’s mother. Clara is originally from Trinidad and worked as a cashier during her daughters’ childhood.
The couple had two daughters together: Cardi B, born October 11, 1992, and Hennessy Carolina, born December 22, 1995.
Both daughters grew up in New York, with family connections to the Bronx and Washington Heights.
Carlos and Clara later divorced. According to PEOPLE, their separation occurred when Cardi B was around 13 years old. Their precise marriage and legal divorce dates have not been firmly established in the same reporting.
How many children does Carlos Alman have?
Carlos has eight children, according to Cardi B’s own account.
In a December 9, 2019 interview with Vogue, Cardi discussed her wider family and said:
> “My dad has eight kids, and we all get along”
The statement appears in Cardi B’s original Vogue interview.
This makes an important distinction clear. Cardi B and Hennessy Carolina are the two daughters Carlos shares with Clara, but Cardi has publicly described her father as having eight children altogether.
The complete identities and family circumstances of all eight children are not established by that interview.
What Has Cardi B Said About Her Father?
Cardi B has provided several specific accounts of her father’s involvement in her childhood, particularly his use of Spanish and the history he taught her.
Language and Dominican heritage
In an April 2018 interview with GQ, Cardi described her father speaking to her exclusively in Spanish.
That detail helps explain her connection to the Spanish language and her Dominican family background.
Cardi grew up around both her father’s Dominican heritage and her mother’s Trinidadian roots. Her childhood in New York brought those backgrounds together within a family connected to two distinct Caribbean cultures.
The language detail is specific to Cardi’s relationship with her father. It should not be interpreted as evidence that Carlos speaks only Spanish in every setting.
Teaching her about Caribbean history
In a 2018 interview published by CR Fashion Book, Cardi recalled learning about Caribbean history from Carlos.
She discussed how her father explained the history of European colonialism in the Caribbean and why different countries in the region speak different languages.
Her recollection provides a more specific picture of his role in her upbringing than general descriptions of parental influence.
It shows that Cardi associated her father with an understanding of the Caribbean’s historical and cultural differences.
She has also publicly acknowledged practical help from her parents during adulthood. Following the birth of her daughter Kulture in 2018, Cardi thanked her parents for assisting her, according to PEOPLE.
Those accounts describe particular ways Carlos appeared in his daughter’s life without requiring assumptions about their private family arrangements.
Carlos Almánzar’s Recent Public Appearances
Although Carlos has not developed a public entertainment career of his own, he has occasionally appeared alongside Cardi B.
One earlier appearance took place on April 10, 2018, when he attended her Gold Album celebration in New York. A photograph credited to Johnny Nunez/WireImage, later published by PEOPLE, identified him with his daughter at the event.
A more recent appearance was documented on September 13, 2025. Reuters photographed Carlos arriving with Cardi B at a bodega pop-up event in Washington Heights.
The location was familiar from Cardi’s childhood, when she spent time with her father’s family in the neighbourhood.
His March 2026 visit to the Dominican Republic
On March 10, 2026, Dominican newspaper Diario Libre reported that Carlos accompanied Cardi B during a family visit to Castañuelas, in Montecristi province.
The visit took place during a period when Cardi was travelling for her music career.
The Diario Libre report documented Carlos’s participation in the visit, providing a dated example of his continued connection with his daughter and relatives in the Dominican Republic.
In October 2026, Dominican news outlets also reported that Cardi visited paternal relatives in Castañuelas following the death of her paternal grandfather. That later reporting did not independently establish whether Carlos attended the October gathering.
As of October 25, 2026, the March visit remains his most recent clearly documented in-person family appearance in the available reporting.
Carlos’s public history is most clearly illustrated by his former work as a New York cab driver, the business proposal Cardi discussed in 2016 and 2017, and his appearances with her in the years that followed. Those documented episodes provide a grounded picture of the man readers encounter under the name Carlos Alman, including his continuing family ties to the Dominican Republic.
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