Carlos Johnson Mayeta

Carlos Johnson Mayeta, who has died aged 61, personified the music, poetry and magic of Cuba. He worked as an interpreter and translator of Russian and English for the government translation agency, ESTI, for more than 30 years. Carlos connected people to Cuban culture in a profound and intimate way. Those of us who were touched by his brilliance will always think of him when we think of Cuba.

He was born in Santiago de Cuba when his mother was just 14, so he was taken in by his father's parents, who had emigrated when young from Jamaica. His grandmother maintained a strict religious household: Carlos studied by day in both a Cuban and Jamaican primary school, and went to church every evening.

On January 2 1959, when Fidel Castro declared the revolution from a balcony in Santiago de Cuba, Carlos was almost 13 years old. He recalled: "I knew it was something good. I had it in my blood, it was intuition but it wasn't mature yet."

That led him to volunteer as a student teacher, with 100,000 other teenagers who took part in the campaign to eradicate illiteracy. He was given a special uniform and an oil lamp to travel at night. After training, he was sent to the mountains and attached to a peasant family. The teenagers taught a million people and Castro invited them to celebrate in Havana on December 22 1961, declaring Cuba 100% literate.

The volunteers were given an opportunity for further study. Carlos wasn't sure what he wanted to be, but ticked mechanic as a safe bet. After training in Santiago and Camagüey, he was chosen to go to the Soviet Union. He was sent to Minsk in 1965 and began six years of study, moving to Leningrad and then to Kharkov in Ukraine. He became close to the Russian language and made many friends, singing songs in clubs and restaurants,

In 1971, Carlos returned to Cuba and was assigned to a technical job in a factory near Havana airport. He missed Russian culture and enrolled in night school at the University of Havana, while working in the factory during the day. It took six years, but in 1977 he graduated with a degree in Russian and an opportunity to become a translator when he joined ESTI. In the late 1980s, Carlos was posted to the Cuban mission to the UN, New York, as part of his training to become an English interpreter. When he returned to Cuba in 1987, he continued to work with high-level Russian delegations, and also interpreted at conferences from Monaco to Venezuela.

In September 2002, the Royal Court Theatre in London began a new project with Cuban playwrights, as part of a long-term collaboration. Carlos was sent by ESTI to interpret our first workshop at Teatro Escambray, a theatre collective in Cuba. In over a dozen visits, we saw the work of a new generation of playwrights flourish. Carlos was instrumental in this; he was the bridge between our nations and cultures. The work continues in his memory.

Carlos was diagnosed with cancer last November and approached his final illness with determination, courage and humour.

He leaves a wife, Ana, a daughter from his first marriage, a granddaughter, and many international friends.

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