A false rumor about Cardi B’s father spread across social media in January 2026, claiming he had been arrested years earlier for attempted rape. None of it was true. The rapper said so herself, posting to her followers until the claim died out.
The man it targeted almost never turns up in his daughter’s public life. Carlos Almรกnzar, known publicly as Carlos Alman, is Cardi B’s Dominican father and a retired New York City taxi driver. He has kept his distance from her fame for more than thirty years, with no interviews and no public accounts to his name.
Table of Contents
Who is Carlos Alman?
Carlos Alman is the father of rapper Cardi B and her younger sister, the influencer Hennessy Carolina. He is a retired New York City taxi driver who was reportedly born in the Dominican Republic in 1958, which would put him at 68 today. His mother is named as Esperanza Almรกnzar.
His full name appears on his daughters’ records as Carlos Alberto Almรกnzar Marsan. Reporters shortened it to Alman, and that is the spelling most people type into a search bar. He is sometimes mixed up with Carlos Almanzar, the former Major League Baseball pitcher, who is a different person with no connection to Cardi B.
From the Dominican Republic to the Bronx
Carlos came to New York around 1990 and settled in the Bronx, which has one of the largest Dominican populations in the United States. He married Clara Mercedes Disla Arzeno, a Trinidadian woman, in 1991, and they raised their two daughters in the Highbridge section of the South Bronx. They separated around 2005, when Cardi was about 13.
His family also shaped the way his older daughter sounds. Cardi B has said her thick New York accent comes partly from the time she spent as a child at her grandmother’s home in Washington Heights. That grandmother was Carlos’s mother.
A taxi driver who still backs the city’s drivers
Carlos spent years behind the wheel of a New York City cab and is retired now. He did not lose interest in the work once he stopped doing it. In 2019, after a New York Times piece on the hard finances facing the city’s drivers, Cardi B wrote that her father still campaigns for them. She described how a driver buys the car, owes the city and the lender at the same time, and stays in debt for years. It is one of the few recent details to surface about him, and it shows him still close to the people he once worked beside.
What Cardi B says about her father
Cardi has spoken about her dad warmly, even as she shields him. In a 2018 Rolling Stone profile, she called him “the cool parent” and said watching his life taught her to be careful with money and to keep investing, so she would not lose everything the way she had seen other people do.
He also shaped how she understands her own background. In an interview with CR Fashion Book, Cardi said her father taught her Caribbean history directly, telling her that Europeans “took over our lands,” which is why people across the islands speak different languages. She has leaned on that idea every time she has talked about being a Black woman of Caribbean descent.
The family he keeps out of frame
Carlos almost never appears in public, and when cameras find him, his daughter steps in. A Univision crew once approached him on a New York street while he was out with Cardi and her young daughter. She stopped them, pointed out that he had no security, and told them, “Don’t put my father on TV.” None of the footage aired.
The January 2026 rumor went the same way, with Cardi doing the talking. As the false arrest story spread, she pushed back on her own accounts:
“He would be deported if he committed such a disgusting crime.”
She threatened to sue and warned people to leave her family alone. Billboard reported the exchange.
His Dominican heritage in Cardi B’s biggest moments
Carlos never recorded a song, but the culture he brought from the Dominican Republic runs through his daughter’s career at its high points.
- In 2018, her Dominican background shaped “I Like It,” a Latin-flavored single that went to number one.
- After a nightclub roof collapsed in Santo Domingo in April 2025 and killed dozens, she mourned publicly for the Dominican people.
- On Saturday Night Live in January 2026, she performed “Bodega Baddie” in Dominican flag colors next to the merengue accordionist El Prodigio, calling it “real Dominican sound, real Dominican culture.”
Cardi B has taken Dominican music to the Grammy stage and to Saturday Night Live. Her father was not there for any of it. He has stayed out of view for more than thirty years, and at 68, with two famous daughters and a private life he has guarded the whole way, he has still never spoken for himself in public. Every sign says that is how he wants it.
Carlos Alman fact file
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Carlos Alberto Almรกnzar Marsan |
| Known as | Carlos Alman |
| Born | Dominican Republic, reportedly 1958 |
| Age | Reportedly 68 |
| Mother | Esperanza Almรกnzar |
| Moved to New York | Around 1990 |
| Married | Clara Mercedes Disla Arzeno, 1991 |
| Separated | Around 2005 |
| Daughters | Cardi B and Hennessy Carolina |
| Occupation | Retired New York City taxi driver |
| Public profile | No interviews, no social media |
Frequently asked questions
Who is Carlos Alman?
He is the Dominican father of Cardi B and her sister Hennessy Carolina, and a retired New York City taxi driver who lives a private life.
How old is Carlos Alman?
He is reportedly 68, based on a birth year of 1958. His exact birth date has not been confirmed by major outlets.
Where is Carlos Alman from?
He was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to the Bronx in New York around 1990.
What did Carlos Alman do for work?
He worked for years as a New York City taxi driver and is now retired. Cardi B has said he still speaks up for the city’s drivers.
Is Carlos Alman still alive?
There have been no reports of his death. Cardi B publicly defended him in January 2026 against a false claim about his past.
How many children does Carlos Alman have?
He has two daughters with Clara Almรกnzar, Cardi B and Hennessy Carolina, and is reported to have more children from an earlier relationship.
