Di-Anna Arias is in the business of making dreams come true.
As vice president of sales and culinary vision at Don Strange of Texas, she has brought to life countless weddings — several on ranches without electricity — and corporate events that wow.
The late Don Strange recruited her in 1982 after he met her while she was working a dinner he catered at the Witte Museum. With a business and marketing degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio, she set to work on developing local convention business that within six years became 50% of the business.
Arias says she learned about food and hospitality from her grandmothers.
“I was raised on chicken and dumplings, tomato gravy and fried chicken,” she said of her East Texas roots. “And then my dad’s side of the family from Laredo brought in Hispanic cultures and food.”
At a family reunion in East Texas, her grandmother told her about her ancestor Edward Morris Tanner, who fought at the Battle of San Jacinto. He was a member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas and received a Spanish land grant for fighting in the battle.
She researched her genealogy and joined the Alamo Mission Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. Currently, she is serving as president through 2027, during a milestone year as the chapter celebrates its 120th anniversary in 2026.
“There’s so much tradition in this organization. It’s just what it’s all about. And honoring things that built Texas history,” she said.
That included a celebration at the Alamo for the 190th anniversary of Texas Independence Day, on March 2, and Alamo Heroes Day, a commemoration of the fall of the Alamo and remembrance of its defenders on March 6.
Then, the annual Pilgrimage to the Alamo will be April 20 at 1:30 p.m., during Fiesta, before the Texas Cavaliers River Parade. The pilgrimage started as celebration of San Jacinto Day.
“The pilgrimage is a solemn walk from the Vietnam Memorial downtown until you get to the Alamo, and wreaths are laid in honor of the men who sacrificed themselves for the freedom of Texas in 1836,” she said.
She has been enthralled with researching Texas history, checking minutes from 1948 meetings of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas chapter.
“There are these books and scrapbooks all the way back to 1906. It’s just how they’re preserving this history, and it’s amazing,” she said.
In addition to her role at Don Strange, she has prioritized her volunteer work with the Alamo Mission Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and the Les Dames d’Escoffier International San Antonio chapter.
“It’s kind of like my love for history and my involvement in the DRT is intertwined with what I do for work, too,” she said. “I do a lot of catering at the Alamo, and I do a lot of catering for people that are coming to San Antonio and want to learn and understand what our food and culture is about. So, I do a lot of research and create menus and learning about Indigenous foods.”
Ingredients in those menus have included chile pequins, squashes, beans, Texas quail and rabbit.
Currently, she’s researching salt mines in South Texas.
“I am trying to really understand how people that traveled from the coastline would preserve shrimp and fish,” she said.
She finds inspiration in her travels, like the colorful cacti in Marfa that she envisioned as centerpieces or the simplicity of Georgia O’Keeffe’s kitchen pantry in Sante Fe. N.M.
Her creativity never stops, and she is still having fun after all these years.
Arias offers an important piece of advice for women in business.
“It’s you,” she said. “You are your best competitive edge. Be yourself, because you are unique.”
▶︎ Read about more women shaping San Antonio.
