Ela é Carioca is a bossa nova tune composed in 1963 by Antônio Carlos Jobim, with Portuguese lyrics by Vinícius de Moraes and English lyrics by Ray Gilbert. The first recording was by Os Cariocas in 1963, and Jobim himself later recorded it for his 1965 album The Wonderful World of Antônio Carlos Jobim. The song, sometimes titled He’s a Carioca, celebrates a young woman from Rio de Janeiro and is often described as a cheerful sequel to The Girl from Ipanema. It has been widely covered by artists including Astrud Gilberto and Ella Fitzgerald, and remains a staple of the bossa nova repertoire. The tune was also used as the title of a 2005 documentary about Jobim’s love for Rio de Janeiro.
