Trying to undeistand the contradiction detected between lhe measores applied by lhe authorilies íd the combat to a smallpox epidemic whicb arose ia 1870 in the manictpality of Taubaté and lhe subsequent celebrations, this article will uncover the local self-interest, the rlsing importance of sanitary criteria in the orientation of lhe municipal policy, the proposal toward the fear which the disease stirs up, the resolutions destined (o neutralizing the conflicts deríved from the epidemic and the prooess of elaboration of an offtcial version of the facts. From the interrelatton of tbese factors, the meaning of the eveol ís extracted.