Many of his earlier pieces are merely clever translations from French, English and Italian; but his originality is placed beyond doubt by such poems as the "Himno del desterrado", the epistle to Emilia, "Desengaños", and the celebrated ode to "Niágara". One of his most celebrated poems was called "En El Teocalli de Cholula," which explores the universality of nature and immense beauty of indigenous ruins. In common with a number of Spanish and Latin American Romantics, his intellectual formation was in Neoclassicism, and indeed his poetry is notable for its perfection of form as well as (often) the sincerity and depth of his feelings. Heredia published a first edition of his poems ("Poesías") during his stay in New York, in 1825, to great acclaim both in the Americas and in Western Europe. Andrés Bello (from his exile in London) and Alberto Lista (from Spain) acknowledged the precociousness of Heredia, praising the originality and freshness of his poetry. A significantly expanded second collection, that included revised versions of many of the poems found in the earlier edition, saw the light in Toluca in 1832, also published by Heredia himself. In 1836 he obtained permission to visit Cuba for two months to reunite with his mother. Disappointed in his political ambitions, and broken in health, Heredia returned to Mexico in January 1837, and died in Mexico City on 7 May 1839.