Nicolás Heredia was born in Bani, Santo Domingo in June 20th, 1855 and died in United States in July 12th, 1901. Being a little child he came to Cuba, where he developed all his studies. He lived in Matanzas most of his life. He became Licentiate in Laws and Philosophy and Letters and dedicated to teaching. Although he joined the Autonomist Party his ideas focused separatism. He presided the Círculo de la Juventud Liberal (Circle of Liberal Youth), where he delivered several speeches. His novel A businessman, was awarded in in the Floral Gamees at the Matanzas Lyceum (1882).
He settled the Diario de Matanzas and El Álbum, and collaborated with: Revista de Cuba, Revista Cubana, Cuba y América and El Fígaro. In the latter he published Crónicas de la guerra de Cuba, after the outbreak of the Independence War of 1895. Once the publishing of these chronicles were banned by orders of Spanish authorities, Heredia moved to the United States joining to revolutionary leaders He delivered important political speeches and assiduously wrote for Patria (Motherland) newspaper in New York. Back to Cuba, during the U.S. intervention government, he became in charge of the Direction of Public Instruction and of the Chair of Modern and Foreign Literatures in the University of Havana. He is the author of El Lector cubano ("The Cuban Reader"), anthology of prose and verse, reviewed by Enrique José Varona.
Some of his works were signed under the following pseudonymes: Cesar de Hinolia , Mostaza , El emigrado, Rodrigo Ruiz, El caballero Bayardo, Luis Villarena, Marabut, Porfirio, Nemo, Bibelot, and others with initials N.H.