thumb|300px|Female funaná dancers.
The funaná is a music and dance genre from Cape Verde. Funaná is an accordion-based music. The rhythm is usually provided by the ferrinho much like the use of washboards in zydeco, the saw in Caribbean ripsaw music, the scraper in Sub-Saharan African music and the güiro in Latin and Pre-Columbian music.
Characteristics
As a music genre, the funaná is characterized by having a variable tempo, from vivace to andante, and a 2-beat rhythm. The funaná is intimately associated to the accordion, more precisely to the diatonic accordion, commonly known as gaita in Cape Verde. This influences a lot of musical aspects that characterize the funaná, such as the fact that, in its most traditional form, the funaná uses only diatonic scales, and not chromatic ones.
The structure of a funaná composition is not very different from the structure of other musical genres in Cape Verde, i.e., basically the music is structured through a set of main strophes that alternate with a refrain. The main difference is that between the different strophes and the refrain there is a solo played on the accordion. the funaná appeared when, in an attempt of acculturation, the accordion would have been introduced in Santiago island in the beginning of the 20th century, in order to the population to learn Portuguese musical genres. The result, however, would have been completely different: it would be the creation of a new and genuine music genre. There aren't, nevertheless, musicological documents to prove that. Even so, it's still curious the fact that, even being a totally different musical genre, the usage of the accordion and the ferrinho in the funaná is analogous to the usage of the accordion and the triangle in certain Portuguese folk music genres (malhão, corridinho, vira, etc.)
Other sources, also from oral tradition, were “fuc-fuc” and “badju l’ gaita”.
Initially a genre exclusively from Santiago, for a long time the funaná was relegated to a rural context and/or for the less favored social classes. It has even been forbidden its performance in the capital, where it was the morna that had a more prestigious and noble character.
But during the 1970s, and mostly after the independence, there had been essays of reviving certain musical genres, among them the funaná. The post-independence socialist ideology, with its struggle against the social classes differences, was a fertile field for the (re)birth of the funaná. These essays weren't successful mostly because “the funaná couldn't step away from the coladeira”.
It was necessary to wait for the 1980s in order the band Bulimundo and specially its mentor Carlos Alberto Martins (a.k.a. Catchás) make a true revival of the funaná.
If the 80's were the years of the spreading of the funaná within Cape Verde, the 90's were the years of the internationalization. (andante) and the rhythm is different from the other variants, it is quite similar to the toada.
thumb|right|300px|Rhythmic model of slow funaná, ± 92 [[Beats per minute|bpm.]]
Funaná morna
Practically, it is not known by this name, it is more known as slow funaná. It seems to be an adaptation of the morna to the accordion techniques, with an andante tempo. While during a long time it was the morna (badju di viulinu) that enjoyed some prestige in urban contexts and noble dance rooms, in rural contexts a slower version of funaná (badju di gaita) was developed in contraposition.