Every day "tall and tanned and young and lovely" Heloísa Eneida Paes P*nto Mendes Pinheiro would stroll past the Velosa bar where sat composer Antonio ("Tom") Carlos Jobim and the poet Vinícius de Moraes (for whom the street is now named). Heloísa at the time was 17 years old. Sometimes the greatest delights remain those that taunt the mind, and so it was between this lovely girl and the two men. The same year, they wrote Garota de Ipanema and before long, that insatiable longing from the streets of Ipanema brought a song that introduced bossa nova to the world. "The Girl From Ipanema" is said to be the second most recorded song in the world. Helô did get to know the poet and Jobim almost got his wish: he proposed to Helô, but she married an engineer instead. Helô also was a Playboy Playmate in 1987 and again in 2003 - at age 58! She also owns fashion stores, one next to that bar from long ago.
Rua Vinicius de Moraes 49, Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil