Most people know him simply as “Cardi B’s dad,” but Carlos Alman represents something far more complex than celebrity parentage. At 67 years old, this Dominican-American former cab driver embodies a story that millions of immigrant families recognize—one of sacrifice, hard work, and the quiet determination to build something better for the next generation.
Carlos Almanzar’s life story reads like a blueprint for the American Dream, though not always in the ways Hollywood might script it. Born in the Dominican Republic on March 19, 1958, he made the journey to New York City that countless others have made, carrying hopes that his children might have opportunities he never did. What makes his story particularly compelling isn’t just that his daughter became one of the world’s biggest music stars—it’s how his values and work ethic shaped the woman who would eventually become Cardi B.
The narrative of immigrant parents working multiple jobs while their children achieve extraordinary success has become almost clichéd in American culture. But Carlos’s story deserves attention precisely because it represents the unglamorous reality behind that narrative. For decades, he drove a taxi through New York’s streets, navigating traffic and difficult passengers while his daughter Belcalis (Cardi B) was growing up in the Bronx. His story isn’t about overnight success or viral fame—it’s about the steady accumulation of small victories that create the foundation for someone else’s breakthrough.
Understanding Carlos Alman means understanding how family dynamics, cultural heritage, and economic necessity intersect to shape both individual character and generational outcomes. His influence on Cardi B’s personality, work ethic, and approach to success runs deeper than most celebrity parent-child relationships because it was forged in circumstances where every family member’s contribution mattered.
From the Dominican Republic to New York’s Streets
Carlos Almanzar’s immigration story reflects broader patterns of Dominican migration to New York. Still, his individual experience shaped the specific family culture that would later influence one of hip-hop’s biggest stars. Moving from the Dominican Republic to New York City requires more than geographic relocation—it demands cultural adaptation, language skills, and the psychological resilience to maintain identity while embracing change.
The decision to leave the Dominican Republic in pursuit of economic opportunity represents the kind of calculated risk that would later characterize his daughter’s approach to career decisions. Carlos understood that success in America would require sacrificing immediate comfort for long-term possibilities. This lesson seems to have influenced Cardi B’s willingness to take bold career moves throughout her rise to fame.
Working as a cab driver in New York City during the 1980s and 1990s meant navigating one of the world’s most challenging urban environments while building relationships with passengers from every conceivable background. This experience exposed Carlos to the full spectrum of human ambition, struggle, and success that defines New York’s character. These daily interactions undoubtedly shaped his understanding of how different people pursue their goals and overcome obstacles.
The economic pressures of supporting a family while working in service industries also taught him lessons about persistence and adaptability that he would pass on to his children. Cab driving requires constant awareness of changing conditions, quick decision-making under pressure, and the ability to remain professional even when dealing with difficult situations—skills that translate well beyond transportation work.
Marriage, Family, and the Bronx Experience
Carlos’s marriage to Clara Almanzar and their subsequent divorce represent a common experience among working-class immigrant families, where economic stress and cultural adaptation can strain even strong relationships. Their two children, including Belcalis (Cardi B), were raised primarily by their mother, but Carlos’s influence remained significant throughout their upbringing.
The family’s life in the Bronx during Cardi B’s childhood was shaped by the neighborhood’s unique cultural dynamics and economic challenges. The Bronx of the 1990s and early 2000s was a place where Caribbean, Latino, and African American cultures intersected, creating the musical and cultural environment that would later influence Cardi B’s artistic development. Carlos’s Dominican heritage contributed to this multicultural foundation.
Despite the divorce, Carlos maintained relationships with his children and continued to serve as a role model for work ethic and persistence. His approach to parenting appears to have emphasized practical skills and personal responsibility rather than sheltering his children from economic realities. This approach likely contributed to Cardi B’s later ability to navigate the entertainment industry’s business challenges.
The economic circumstances of their family life meant that everyone understood the value of money and the effort required to earn it. Carlos’s work as a cab driver provided a front-row seat to economic inequality in New York, lessons that his daughter would later reference in her music and public statements about wealth, success, and staying connected to working-class experiences.
The Cab Driver’s Lessons in Human Nature
Driving a taxi in New York City provides an advanced education in human psychology, economic dynamics, and social interaction that few other jobs can match. Carlos Alman spent years observing how people from different backgrounds handle stress, celebrate success, and navigate relationships—experiences that gave him insights he could share with his children about dealing with various personality types and social situations.
The nature of cab driving also teaches patience and emotional regulation under challenging circumstances. Dealing with traffic, demanding passengers, and economic uncertainty requires the kind of steady temperament that seems to have influenced Cardi B’s ability to handle public criticism and industry pressures without losing her essential personality.
Carlos’s work schedule as a cab driver meant irregular hours and constant availability, sacrifices that demonstrated to his children the lengths parents will go to provide for their families. This example of dedication to family responsibility, even when the work itself might not be personally fulfilling, established patterns of thinking about commitment and follow-through that would serve his daughter well in her entertainment career.
The multicultural nature of New York’s taxi passenger base also exposed Carlos to different perspectives on success, family, and cultural values. These interactions likely contributed to the open-minded approach to various backgrounds and experiences that Cardi B would later display in her music collaborations and public statements about diversity and inclusion.
Shaping Cardi B’s Work Ethic and Values
The influence of Carlos Alman on his daughter’s character becomes apparent when examining Cardi B’s public statements about family, work, and success. Her frequent references to her parents’ struggles and her determination to provide better opportunities for her children reflect values that were established during her upbringing.
Cardi B’s business acumen and negotiation skills in the entertainment industry suggest early lessons about the importance of understanding money, contracts, and professional relationships. Having a father who worked in a cash-based service industry would have provided practical education about financial management and customer relations that formal schooling might not have covered.
Her authentic connection to working-class experiences, even after achieving extraordinary wealth, reflects the kind of grounding that comes from growing up with parents who never forgot their economic struggles. Carlos’s continued work as a cab driver throughout her childhood meant that success was never taken for granted and that respectful treatment of service workers remained a family value.
The combination of Dominican cultural values and American entrepreneurial thinking that characterizes much of Cardi B’s public persona suggests a household where traditional family loyalty coexisted with ambitious thinking about individual achievement. This balance between respecting heritage and embracing opportunity appears to have been central to Carlos’s approach to parenting.
Life After Cardi B’s Success
Carlos Almanzar’s experience of watching his daughter achieve global fame represents a unique perspective on success, family, and the unexpected directions life can take. From driving a taxi to attending award shows and seeing his daughter collaborate with some of music’s biggest stars represents a journey that few parents could have anticipated.
His approach to his daughter’s fame appears to have remained grounded in the same values that guided his parenting during her childhood. Rather than seeking public attention or leveraging his connection to Cardi B for personal gain, he has maintained a relatively private profile while supporting his daughter’s career and celebrating her achievements.
The financial security that Cardi B’s success has provided for the family represents the fulfillment of the American Dream that motivated Carlos’s original immigration to the United States. Seeing his daughter achieve wealth and influence that can benefit multiple generations validates the sacrifices he made during her childhood while working long hours under challenging conditions.
His continued residence in New York City, rather than moving to more exclusive locations, suggests someone who remains connected to the community and experiences that shaped his character. This choice to maintain roots rather than completely transforming his lifestyle reflects the kind of groundedness that he passed on to his daughter.
The Dominican Heritage Connection
Carlos Almanzar’s Dominican background provides essential context for understanding both his values and the cultural influences that shaped his daughter’s artistic development. Dominican culture’s emphasis on family loyalty, musical expression, and entrepreneurial hustle appears throughout Cardi B’s public persona and business decisions.
The Dominican Republic’s complex relationship with economic opportunity and migration means that families like the Almanzars often maintain strong connections to both their homeland and their adopted country. This dual cultural perspective provides advantages in understanding different markets, audiences, and business opportunities—skills that have served Cardi B well in building a global brand.
Dominican musical traditions, including merengue and bachata, emphasize rhythm, storytelling, and audience engagement—elements that appear in Cardi B’s hip-hop style even when she’s not explicitly incorporating Latin music. Carlos’s cultural background likely contributed to his daughter’s natural understanding of how music can connect with audiences across different backgrounds.
The Dominican emphasis on family financial responsibility, where successful individuals are expected to support extended family networks, appears in Cardi B’s public statements about providing for relatives and investing in family businesses. These values reflect cultural teachings that Carlos would have emphasized throughout his daughter’s upbringing.
Lessons in Persistence and Adaptability
Carlos Almanzar’s career as a cab driver required constant adaptation to changing city conditions, evolving technology, and shifting economic circumstances. The taxi industry underwent significant changes during his working years, from the introduction of credit card systems to competition from ride-sharing apps. His ability to continue working effectively through these changes demonstrated the kind of adaptability that serves people well in any rapidly changing field.
The persistence required to work as a cab driver for decades, dealing with difficult passengers and challenging working conditions while maintaining professional standards, represents the kind of character that doesn’t give up when facing obstacles. This persistence appears to have been passed on to his daughter, whose rise in the entertainment industry required overcoming numerous rejections and setbacks.
His work schedule as a cab driver meant being available during evenings, weekends, and holidays when other families might be spending leisure time together. This sacrifice of personal comfort for family financial security established patterns of thinking about priorities and responsibility that seem to influence Cardi B’s approach to balancing career demands with family obligations.
The economic uncertainty that comes with service industry work also taught lessons about saving money, managing irregular income, and preparing for unexpected expenses. These practical financial skills appear in Cardi B’s public statements about business investments and her approach to managing wealth for long-term family security.
The Quiet Strength of Immigrant Fathers
Carlos Alman represents countless immigrant fathers who work demanding jobs while maintaining hope that their children will have better opportunities. His story illustrates how parental sacrifice and a consistent work ethic can create foundations for achievements that might seem impossible from the outside.
The decision to continue working as a cab driver rather than seeking other employment options suggests someone who found dignity in honest work and believed that providing consistent income was more important than pursuing career prestige. This approach to work and responsibility appears to have influenced his daughter’s respect for all forms of legitimate employment and her connection to working-class audiences.
His ability to maintain cultural values while adapting to American economic realities demonstrates the kind of flexibility that successful immigrant families develop. Balancing Dominican traditions with American opportunities required constant decision-making about which values to preserve and which adaptations to embrace.
The emotional strength required to support a family while working in a demanding service industry, especially during economic downturns and personal challenges, represents the kind of resilience that gets passed down through family relationships. Carlos’s example of persistence through difficulties likely contributed to his daughter’s ability to handle public criticism and industry pressures.
The Lasting Impact of Everyday Heroes
Carlos Almanzar’s story matters because it represents the experiences of millions of immigrant fathers whose contributions to their families and communities often go unrecognized until their children achieve remarkable success. His decades of work as a cab driver, his commitment to family values, and his ability to maintain cultural identity while adapting to American life created the foundation that made Cardi B’s achievements possible.
The values he instilled—work ethic, financial responsibility, cultural pride, and family loyalty—appear consistently in his daughter’s public statements and business decisions. These weren’t abstract concepts taught through lectures, but practical lessons demonstrated through years of consistent behavior under challenging circumstances.
His approach to parenting, which emphasized preparing children for economic realities while maintaining hope for better opportunities, reflects wisdom that extends far beyond any single family’s experience. Carlos understood that success requires both practical skills and emotional resilience, lessons he passed on through example rather than instruction.
The relationship between Carlos Alman and Cardi B also illustrates how individual achievements often reflect family systems and cultural values that span generations. Her success belongs to her, but it was built on foundations that he helped establish through years of steady work and consistent character.
As discussions about immigration, economic opportunity, and family values continue to shape American political and social conversations, stories like Carlos Almanzar’s provide a critical perspective on how individual determination and family support create the conditions for extraordinary achievement. His life demonstrates that heroism often takes the form of showing up consistently, working hard under challenging situations, and maintaining hope that the next generation will have better opportunities.
The cab driver who became the father of a global superstar represents something essential about American possibility, but also about the personal sacrifices and daily choices that make such possibilities real. Carlos Almanzar’s story reminds us that behind every individual success story stands a network of family relationships, cultural values, and community experiences that deserve recognition and respect.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Carlos Almanzar’s relationship with Cardi B?
Carlos Alman is Cardi B’s father. Born in the Dominican Republic, he worked as a taxi driver in New York City while raising his daughter, Belcalis (Cardi B’s real name), and her sister. Despite his divorce from Cardi B’s mother, Clara, he remained an influential figure in his daughter’s life and continues to be part of her support system.
How did Carlos Alman influence Cardi B’s success?
Carlos’s work ethic as a cab driver and his Dominican cultural values significantly shaped Cardi B’s approach to business and family. His example of persistent work under challenging conditions, combined with lessons about financial responsibility and cultural pride, contributed to her ability to navigate the entertainment industry while staying connected to her roots.
What does Carlos Alman do now?
While specific details about his current employment status aren’t publicly available, Carlos appears to have stepped back from regular taxi driving. At 67 years old, he likely benefits from his daughter’s financial success while maintaining a relatively private life in New York City.
Where does Carlos Alman live?
Carlos Alman continues to reside in New York City, where he has lived since immigrating from the Dominican Republic. He has chosen to maintain his residence in the area rather than relocating despite his daughter’s wealth, reflecting his connection to the community where he built his life.
How does Cardi B talk about her father?
Cardi B frequently references her parents’ hard work and sacrifices in interviews and social media posts. She expresses respect for her father’s dedication to providing for the family through his taxi driving work and credits both parents with teaching her the value of money and the importance of family loyalty.
What role does Dominican culture play in the Almanzar family?
Carlos’s Dominican heritage contributed significantly to the family’s cultural values, including emphasis on family loyalty, musical expression, and entrepreneurial thinking. These artistic elements appear throughout Cardi B’s music and public persona, reflecting the cultural foundation her father provided.
Did Carlos Alman expect his daughter to become famous?
Like most parents, Carlos likely hoped for his daughter’s success but probably didn’t anticipate the specific path to global fame that Cardi B achieved. His focus appears to have been on providing a stable foundation and strong values rather than predicting particular career outcomes.