A house built on culture: 30 years of Dieste.

By Aldo Quevedo – CEO, BeautifulBeast / Dieste, 1996–2012

Last week, we celebrated at Diesterday XXX. And it wasn’t just a celebration of longevity; it was a reminder of impact.

But let me give you some context before we proceed. Diesterday is an event created by former members of the agency, primarily as an excuse to reconnect. To reminisce, tell stories, and honor key moments in Dieste’s history. But it’s more than just a reunion; this informal event is a testament to bonds built through shared work, ambition, and belief. Bonds that, over time, have only become stronger.

Thirty years ago, Dieste began as Dieste & Partners, a young agency with a clear conviction: Hispanic advertising didn’t need to be an adaptation, a translation, or a side conversation. It deserved its own voice, its own standards, and its own ambition. As the agency evolved, becoming Dieste, Harmel & Partners, and ultimately Dieste, that belief never changed. What changed was the industry around it.

Dieste helped create a new approach to Hispanic advertising in the United States. One rooted in cultural truth, creative excellence, and strategic rigor. Not niche. Not secondary. Central.

The work proved that culture wasn’t a constraint. It was a competitive advantage.

But Dieste’s legacy isn’t measured only by campaigns. It’s measured in people.

Walk into almost any corner of the industry today and you’ll find leaders who once passed through Dieste—strategists, creatives, executives—carrying forward what they learned there: respect for culture, high standards for craft, and the confidence to push back when the easy answer wasn’t the right one. Dieste excelled in building brands, but more importantly, it helped build careers, perspectives, and a generation of leadership.

Diesterday XXX brought all of that into one room. Past and present. Stories shared. Relationships renewed. A collective acknowledgment that what was built over three decades mattered, and still does.

I am deeply proud to have been part of Dieste’s history and grateful to the hundreds of professionals who, over the last 30 years, called Dieste their home and helped shape its culture, work, and influence. I’m equally thankful to those who guided the agency forward: founders Tony Dieste and Warren Harmel, whose vision and leadership shaped Dieste from the start, and the late Greg Knipp, who led the agency as CEO for the past decade with clarity, generosity, and conviction.

Thirty years in, Dieste’s story is not about looking back with nostalgia. It’s about recognizing that the foundation laid then continues to shape where the industry is going next. And that may be the most meaningful milestone of all.