Carinhoso is an instrumental choro by Pixinguinha, the Brazilian composer who lived from 1897 to 1973. He composed it between 1916 and 1917, before entering the Instituto Nacional de Música in 1933. It was first recorded in December 1928 in its instrumental version by the Orquestra Típica Pixinguinha-Donga, issued as a 78 rpm single on Victor. João de Barro (Braguinha) later wrote the lyrics, and Orlando Silva recorded the sung version in 1937 with great success.
In 1950 Ray Gilbert wrote an English version, "Love Is Like This", for the film Romance Carioca, which was sung by Jane Powell. A 1970s recording became the theme of the TV Globo telenovela Carinhoso, broadcast from 1973 to 1974 and starring Regina Duarte and Cláudio Marzo. In 2009 the Rolling Stone Brasil panel placed it third among the 100 greatest Brazilian songs.
