Elle Cordova
Rachelle Cordova known professionally as Elle Cordova and formerly as Reina del Cid, is an American singer-songwriter and lead of the folk rock band Reina del Cid. She is also known for her online comedy sketches, rhyming spoken-word poetry, and videos celebrating literature, space, technology, and nerd culture. She was formerly based in Minneapolis-St. Paul and is now based in Los Angeles.
Early life and education
Cordova was born in Fargo, North Dakota, on March 8, 1988, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities in 2010. After graduating, she worked as an editorial assistant for University of Minnesota Press.Career
Cordova adopted the stage name "Reina del Cid" in 2007 for her YouTube channel as a reference to Spanish heroic literature: having nicknamed a guitar "El Cid" after the Castilian nobleman of that name, she added the name "Reina" to become "queen of my guitar".Reina del Cid first gained significant attention with a residency at the Amsterdam Bar & Hall in downtown St. Paul, performing every Monday night for nearly two years from 2013 to 2015.
Alongside creative partner and lead guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Toni Lindgren, Cordova has released five full-length studio albums as Reina del Cid: blueprints, plans ; The Cooling ; Rerun City ; Morse Code ; and Candy Apple Red. The Cooling and Rerun City were recorded at Pachyderm Studios. Songs from The Cooling were featured on NPR and Baeble Music. Paste magazine featured her subsequent single release, "Death Cap", and its filmed-in-Iceland music video.
Cordova released Morse Code on October 4, 2019, with a concert at The Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis.
Cordova and Lindgren moved to Los Angeles in early 2020. Their fifth studio album, Candy Apple Red, was released on April 28, 2022, with a concert at the Turf Club in St. Paul.
In July 2023, Reina del Cid "reintroduced" herself as Elle Cordova to reflect new "songs and poems that feel more personal...than ever before." As a self-professed "English major nerd with a penchant for sci-fi tv shows", she has released poems, skits, and songs about science, space, sci-fi, and literary themes, some set to hip-hop beats. She launched a YouTube channel under the new name. The Reina del Cid channel was renamed, first to "Sunday Mornings HQ" and then to "Elle & Toni", where Cordova and Lindgren continue to post weekly covers and originals. The band's new album will be an Elle Cordova release; previous material will retain the Reina del Cid moniker.
In her April 2024 TED Talk, Cordova presented "Poetry and music that reaches across the digital void", performing her original song "Carl Sagan" and exploring social media and human connection. TED presented her as a musician known for online comedy sketches, rhyming spoken-word poetry, and videos celebrating literature, space, technology and nerd culture.
On August 4, 2024, Cordova uploaded to YouTube a cover of Darrell Scott's song "Long Time Gone", and wrote in the description that "We've been a 'long time gone' from this channel temporarily ".
In March 2025, Cordova's YouTube channel had approximately 670,000 subscribers, with more than 350 videos and over 187 million combined views. Her Instagram account had over 1.2 million followers.
In January 2025, Elle and Toni ended the Sunday Morning series and started a new one, Full Moon Tunes, in which they post a new cover every full moon.
Political views
Cordova supports abortion rights; after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, she produced a spin on the American patriotic song “My Country, 'Tis of Thee” criticizing the Supreme Court’s decision, calling the justices in the majority "six robed dinosaurs".Band members
- Elle Cordova – lead vocals and rhythm guitar
- Toni Lindgren – lead guitar and backing vocals
- Andrew Foreman – bass
- Nate Babbs – drums
- Zach Schmidt – drums