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Music

Treat Yourself to a New Music Video for Toto's "Africa," With Pablo Escobar

Forget the original. This is the best damn thing we've seen all year.
Meredith Balkus
translated by Meredith Balkus
Brooklyn, US
Collage by Pablo David G for Noisey en Español

A version of this article originally appeared on Noisey en Español. Leer en Español.

Most people won't remember the original music video for the song "Africa," Toto's unforgettable track from the early 80s. And honestly, you're not really missing much. While the song has managed to transcend time—it topped the charts of the Billboard Hot 100 in its heyday and has secured its rightful place in the heart of the internet—the video is nothing more than the insipid story of a researcher who travels through a library in search of a book entitled Africa, and which ends with a building smashed to pieces and a pile of burning books. You actually don't have to flock to YouTube to watch it, because we've found an even more delirious version for you, one that's going to forever change how you view the Los Angeles-based band's most recognizable hit.

Brace yourself.

Sometime around the Christmas of 1978, Pablo Escobar—one of the most infamous drug traffickers in the world (long before you discovered him through Netflix)—inaugurated what is perhaps one of the most extravagant constructions in Colombia: The "Hacienda Nápoles." It was the Medellin Cartel's operations center for sending drug shipments and a symbol of wealth for the Colombian mafia. It featured aircraft landing strips, a Jurassic Park-like attempt at hosting animals brought from different parts of the world, six swimming pools, 27 manmade lakes, an airplane hangar, heliports, and a myriad of other attractions. After the cartel disappeared, this bizarre universe was converted into a theme park that annually receives thousands of Colombian and international tourists.

So it makes perfect sense that this place, which was documented through archival footage depicting what seems to be a vacation for Escobar and his henchmen, was converted by the geniuses at Memes COMCEL 2005—a Latin American Facebook group devoted to internet humor—into the most surreal and absurd incarnation of Toto's hit song. The final product is a shitposting gem that will leave its mark on history thanks to its disruptive value and pure nonsensicalness. See for yourself: