[Urban prophylaxis against the cholera outbreak in Arica, Chile, 1886-1888]

The objective of this research is to analyze the outbreak of cholera that occurred in the city of Arica, located on the northern border of Chile-Peru, at the end of the 1880s. The study focuses on the impact generated by the epidemics in society, medical diagnoses and the rapid spread of contagion. The creation of an institutional framework to face the health emergency and the policies that were implemented to prevent the arrival of the condition to the port are addressed. Based on specialized literature, the Arican press and the documentation of the Vicente Dagnino Historical Archive, we concluded that the cholera outbreak activated a series of political-health mechanisms that generated transformations in public and private hygiene practices.