Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA
One of the most played and recorded
songs in popular music history, “The
Girl from Ipanema,”
or “A Garota de
Ipanema”
was written in 1962, by
Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de
Moraes. The duo are said to have
been inspired by a sensual girl from
Ipanema, Helô Pinheiro. A year later,
the recording of the song's most
famous version took place in New
York's A&R Studio, featuring João
and Astrud Gilberto, in the Portuguese and English versions,
respectively. In 1964, Stan Getz, Jobim, and the Gilbertos
took
bossa nova
to a global audience with the release
of
Getz/Gilberto
. With “The Girl from Ipanema” as the
opening track, the album stayed on the US charts for
96 weeks and won four Grammys.
Astrud Gilberto
Exterior of an upmarket jewelry
store in Ipanema
Ipanema
i
Q
General Osório.
Feira Hippie
de Ipanema
Praça General de
Osório
.
Leblon are considered the
most desirable places to live
in Rio. More residential than
Copacabana, Ipanema is also
more stylish, with its back
streets dotted with chic
boutiques, bars, restaurants,
and nightclubs.
The most prestigious
address in Rio is Avenida
Vieira Souto, while running
parallel, two streets back, is
Rua Visconde de Pirajá, the
backbone to the Ipanema
shopping experience. At the
Copacabana end is Praça
General Osório, the public
square that plays host to Rio's
popular
Feira Hippie de
Ipanema
(Hippie Fair),
every Sunday. The
fair has been a part
of life in Ipanema
and Rio since
opening in 1968.
The mile-long
stretch of Ipanema
beach runs from
Leblon in the west,
up to Arpoador in the
east. Arpoador
extends the beach by
another half mile, and is
popular with the surf set.
Rua Dias Ferreira, at the most
westerly point, boasts a partic-
ularly eclectic mix. Like
Ipanema, there are only a few
hotels along the beachfront
Avenida Delfim Moreira.
While the beaches of
Copacabana and Leme flow
seamlessly into each other,
Leblon and Ipanema are
separated by Jardim de Alá
and the canal that links the
Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas with
the sea. The 1-mile (2-km)
long Leblon is said to have
been given its name in honor
of a blond foreigner, one of
its first residents in the area.
The nationality of “Le Blond”
is debatable. Some scholars
say that he was French, while
others surmise he was Dutch.
Leblon is the headquarters
of Clube de Regatas
Flamengo, of which the most
famous is the Flamengo
Football Club, the World Club
Champions in 1981.
#
8am-6pm Sun.
Almost as famous as
Copacabana, Ipanema shot
into the limelight in the 1960s
with the globally-famous song
written by Antônio Jobim and
Vinícius de Moraes, “The Girl
from Ipanema”
(see p32)
.
The actual name of this
fashionable area is credited
to the native Tupi-Guaraní
who called the area
Y-panema, or “rough water.”
The first non-native residents
moved into the area around
1884, and today Ipanema and
neighboring
R
J
Siqueira
Campos
Arcoverde
COPAC
ABANA
Copaca
bana
Palace
Hotel
Praia do
Copacabana
Leblon
o
@
Copacabana.
For many years, Leblon sat in
the shadow of Ipanema. But
today it is considered as
fashionable and desirable as
its neighbor, with perhaps an
even greater density and mix
of bars, clubs, and restaurants.
0 meters
500
The exclusive Leblon neighborhood
and its fashionable beach
0 yards
500
