By Juan Carlos Guerrero,Karina Nova

Copyright abc7news

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) — It’s not uncommon for restaurants to offer pairing menus with wine or spirits, but what Parche is doing in Oakland is more unorthodox.

“Music and food are everything to me,” said Parche owner and culinary director, Paul Iglesias.

For Hispanic Heritage Month, the Colombian restaurant is offering a pairing menu with musical artists Shakira, Bomba Stereo, Celia Cruz and Bad Bunny.

“The first one we’re honoring is Shakira. She’s from Barranquilla, so we wanted to pair the idea of the Atlantic Ocean and flowing music and dancing,” Iglesias said.

He came up with a ceviche that reimages a shrimp cocktail. The leche de tigre marinade is made with tomato. The dish is topped with a green mango sorbet.

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The dish is called aguita de mango or mango water.

“Colombia is one of those countries where I think there is a lot of joy in what we do and there’s a lot of pride and the way we shot it is though song and dance and food,” said Iglesias.

He opened Parche nearly three years ago in Uptown Oakland. Iglesias reimagines traditional Colombian cooking with California ingredients.

Dishes like ceviche are different from Mexican and Peruvian ceviches in that they rely more on acid from fruit than limes.

Parche’s Santa Marta ceviche is made with trout in a mango leche de tigre and topped with crispy salmon skin. It has comes with a calamari aioli create a pattern resembling the skin of the jaguar.

“I wanted to honor the jaguar which the natives considered like a god,” Iglesias said.

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Another dish that brings him pride is Parche’s empanadas, which are inspired by ajiao, a popular Colombian soup made of chicken and potatoes.

“When Colombians eat them, they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, this tastes like my mom’s cooking, but it’s in an empanada. It doesn’t make sense, but it’s amazing.’ And that’s the contemporary aspect of it,” Iglesias said.

The empanadas are gluten free, as is the entire menu at Parche.

The name of the restaurant comes from a popular Colombian expression.

“Parche is a verb that we use in Colombian culture. If you want to go out to eat, you would say ‘Vamos a parchar.’ Let’s go party,” Iglesias said.

The restaurant is outfitted with a Constellation Acoustic System by Meyer Sound. The system uses microphones to gauge the ambience and modifies reverberations to isolate conversations. It allows diners to hear each other easily even when the music is turned up.

Iglesias isn’t just concentrated on the food that goes on the plate. He’s also invested in uplifting Oakland.

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Parche has hosted a fundraiser for the Oakland Roots, and last year, Iglesias joined Nelson German from Sobre Mesa and Luigi Di Ruocco of Mr. Espresso to form the Oakland Restaurant Collective, a group that seeks to counter negative stereotypes about crime and break-ins in Oakland.

“People are missing out by not coming to Oakland. We want to change the perception of Oakland,” said Di Ruocco, whose family has owned Mr. Espresso since the 1970s.

The Oakland Restaurant Collective has more than two dozen members now and has received backing from the Oakland Chamber of Commerce.

“We have to be able to come together. There’s reasons to come here,” Iglesias said.

The music and pairing menu is another reason. The next session will be Thursday, Oct. 9 for a food pairing with Bad Bunny music.