16th Ariel Awards
The 16th Ariel Awards ceremony, organized by the Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences took place on March 22, 1974, in Mexico City. During the ceremony, AMACC presented the Ariel Award in 14 categories honoring films released in 1973. El Principio was the most nominated film, and also the most awarded with eight wins including a Special Award for child actor Rogelio Flores. El Principio won for Best Picture and Best Director. Two-time Ariel winner film, Calzonzin Inspector, directed by Alfonso Arau, was selected to represent Mexico at the 47th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.
Winners and nominees
Winners are listed first and highlighted with boldface.El Principio – Estudios Churubusco Azteca
| Gonzalo Martínez Ortega – El Principio |
| Pancho Córdova – "Caridad" 'as Jacobo | Katy Jurado – "Caridad" as Eulogia |
| Sergio Bustamante – El Principio as Don Pancho | Lina Montes – El Principio as Doña Cuca |
| Los Perros de Dios – Josefina Vicens | El Principio – Gonzalo Martínez Ortega |
| El Principio – Rubén Fuentes | Calzonzin Inspector – Jorge Stahl Jr. |
| El Principio – Carlos Savage | Calzonzin Inspector – José Luis González de León |
| En Busca de un Muro – Enrique Estévez | No Nos Moverán – Breni Cuenca' |
Multiple nominations and awards
The following six films received multiple nominations:| Nominations | Film |
| 11 | El Principio |
| 8 | El Cambio |
| 4 | Calzonzin Inspector |
| 4 | "Caridad" |
| 2 | El Señor de Osanto |
| 2 | El Profeta Mimí |
Films that received multiple awards:
| Awards | Film |
| 8 | El Principio |
| 2 | "Caridad" |
| 2 | Calzonzin Inspector |